Blood lead levels and potential environmental exposures among children under five years in kibera slums, Nairobi
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Date
2009Author
Olewe, Tom M.
Mwanthi, Mutuku A.
Wang'ombe, Joseph K.
Griffiths, Jeffrey K.
Type
ArticleLanguage
enMetadata
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Lead exposure has been associated with intellectual impairment in children in a number of international studies. Prevalence of elevated blood lead levels (eBLL >10ug/dL) of between 5 - 15% has been reported among in Nairobi (UNEP, 2006). However, little is known about potential environmental exposure for eBLLs among children in Kibera, Nairobi The study found about 7% (N ; 387) of the children tested had eBLL 2: 10ug/dl in an area with very high soil lead levels (range in Kibera slums: 3,365 - 89,570 nglkg; WHO allowable range: 100 - 120uglkg), raising a health flag that must be addressed using the multi-sectoral approach and further studies. It's important to note that the study design and its inherent limitations could have masked true picture of childhood lead poisoning in Kibera slums, Nairobi.
URI
http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/11292http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=olewe+t
Citation
East African Journal of Public health Volume 6 Number 1 April 2009Collections
- Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) [10377]