title: Childhood lead poisoning associated with gold ore processing: a village-level investigation-Zamfara State, Nigeria, October-November 2010.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  During May-June 2010, a childhood lead poisoning outbreak related to gold ore processing was confirmed in two villages in Zamfara State, Nigeria. During June-September of that year, villages with suspected or confirmed childhood lead poisoning continued to be identified in Zamfara State.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We investigated the extent of childhood lead poisoning [≥ 1 child with a blood lead level (BLL) ≥ 10 µg/dL] and lead contamination (≥ 1 soil/dust sample with a lead level > 400 parts per million) among villages in Zamfara State and identified villages that should be prioritized for urgent interventions.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used chain-referral sampling to identify villages of interest, defined as villages suspected of participation in gold ore processing during the previous 12 months. We interviewed villagers, determined BLLs among children < 5 years of age, and analyzed soil/dust from public areas and homes for lead.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identified 131 villages of interest and visited 74 (56%) villages in three local government areas. Fifty-four (77%) of 70 villages that completed the survey reported gold ore processing. Ore-processing villages were more likely to have ≥ 1 child < 5 years of age with lead poisoning (68% vs. 50%, p = 0.17) or death following convulsions (74% vs. 44%, p = 0.02). Soil/dust contamination and BLL ≥ 45 µg/dL were identified in ore-processing villages only [50% (p < 0.001) and 15% (p = 0.22), respectively]. The odds of childhood lead poisoning or lead contamination was 3.5 times as high in ore-processing villages than the other villages (95% confidence interval: 1.1, 11.3).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Childhood lead poisoning and lead contamination were widespread in surveyed areas, particularly among villages that had processed ore recently. Urgent interventions are required to reduce lead exposure, morbidity, and mortality in affected communities.
authors: Epidemic Intelligence Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30341, USA.
authors: Yi-Chun
authors: YC
authors: Lo
authors: Carrie A
authors: CA
authors: Dooyema
authors: Antonio
authors: A
authors: Neri
authors: James
authors: J
authors: Durant
authors: Taran
authors: T
authors: Jefferies
authors: Andrew
authors: A
authors: Medina-Marino
authors: Lori
authors: L
authors: de Ravello
authors: Douglas
authors: D
authors: Thoroughman
authors: Lora
authors: L
authors: Davis
authors: Raymond S
authors: RS
authors: Dankoli
authors: Matthias Y
authors: MY
authors: Samson
authors: Luka M
authors: LM
authors: Ibrahim
authors: Ossai
authors: O
authors: Okechukwu
authors: Nasir T
authors: NT
authors: Umar-Tsafe
authors: Alhassan H
authors: AH
authors: Dama
authors: Mary Jean
authors: MJ
authors: Brown
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity*; D006801:Humans; D007854:Lead / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity*; D007855:Lead Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D008669:Metallurgy; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D007854:Lead