An unprecedented outbreak of lead poisoning linked to a gold rush has killed at least 200 children in northern Nigeria this year, with a further 18,000 people affected.
Announcing the figures, the United Nations said it had sent an emergency team to assess the full impact of the "acute massive lead poisoning" in Zamfara state, where seven villages have so far been confirmed as contaminated. In all cases, villagers had been grinding ore by hand to search for gold when they unwittingly freed lead particles also contained in the rock.
The quantities of lead released into the dust and soil were large enough to kill children – most of the deaths were among under-fives – while also causing deafness, blindness, brain damage and muscular problems.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which conducted a preliminary study into the deaths, said that the scale of the problem was "unprecedented in CDC's work with lead poisoning worldwide".
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Announcing the figures, the United Nations said it had sent an emergency team to assess the full impact of the "acute massive lead poisoning" in Zamfara state, where seven villages have so far been confirmed as contaminated. In all cases, villagers had been grinding ore by hand to search for gold when they unwittingly freed lead particles also contained in the rock.
The quantities of lead released into the dust and soil were large enough to kill children – most of the deaths were among under-fives – while also causing deafness, blindness, brain damage and muscular problems.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which conducted a preliminary study into the deaths, said that the scale of the problem was "unprecedented in CDC's work with lead poisoning worldwide".
View Full Story
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