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Aid Group: Lead Poisoning Kills 400 Nigerian Children

   VOA News 05 October 2010
   Children suffering from lead poisoning wait to see medical workers, in
   Gusau, Nigeria, 09 Jun 2010

Photo: AP

   Children suffering from lead poisoning wait to see medical workers, in
   Gusau, Nigeria, 09 Jun 2010

   The  medical aid group Doctors Without Borders says lead poisoning has
   killed some 400 children in northern Nigeria over the past six months.

   The  new  toll  is  more  than  double  the  160 deaths, including 111
   children, that Nigerian authorities reported in June.

   At   that   time,   the   [1]World   Health   Organization  said  lead
   concentrations  in  parts  of  Nigeria's  Zamfara state were 250 times
   higher  than  those  allowed in residential areas in the United States
   and France.

   Nigerian health officials have said the poisoning is linked to illegal
   gold mining.

   The WHO has sent epidemiologists and pediatricians to help contain the
   outbreak and prevent similar problems in the future.

   Concentration  of  lead  in  the  body can damage the kidneys, nervous
   system  and  reproductive  system.  Children  under the age of six are
   especially vulnerable.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

References

   1. http://www.who.org/

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