High concentration of blood lead levels among young children in Bagega community, Zamfara - Nigeria and the potential risk factor.

INTRODUCTION: In May 2010 lead poisoning (LP) was confirmed among children 10ug/dL as elevated BLL and BLL >/=45ug/dL as the criterion for chelation therapy. We defined soil lead levels (SLL) of >/=400 parts per million (ppm) as elevated SLL. RESULTS: The median age of U5 was 36 months (Inter-quartile range: 17-48 months). The median BLL was 71microg/dL (range: 8-332microg/dL). Of the 185 U5 184 (99.5%) had elevated BLL 169 (91.4%) met criterion for CT. The median SLL in tested households (n = 37) of U5 was 1237ppm (range: 53-45270ppm). Households breaking ore rocks within the compound were associated with convulsion related-childrens death (OR: 5.80 95% CI: 1.08 - 27.85). CONCLUSION: There was an LP outbreak in U5 in Bagega community possibly due to heavy contamination of the environment as a result of increased ore processing activities. Community-driven remediation activities are ongoing. We recommended support for sustained environmental remediation health education intensified surveillance and case management.