Christopher Coen
Melissa Sogard
nancylee1
Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have found that lead poisoning is common among refugee children from Burma/Myanmar. The CDC recommends that all refugee children have their lead levels checked within three months of arriving in the US, be screened for anemia, and that resettlement agencies place refugee families in “lead-safe” housing. The CDC also advises that after their first lead test, children younger than 6 should be re-tested within six months of settling into permanent housing. Reuters has the story:
(Reuters Health) – Many Burmese refugee children bound for the U.S. may have dangerously high levels of lead in their blood, a new government study finds.
Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that of 642 U.S.-bound Burmese children, 90 percent had some amount of lead in their blood. Overall, 5 percent had lead poisoning — including nearly 15 percent of children younger than 2.
High lead exposure is especially dangerous for young children, since it can permanently damage their developing brains…
…The CDC already recommends that all refugee children have their lead levels checked within three months of arriving in the U.S…
…the biggest factor seemed to be anemia, which is most often caused by iron deficiency. Anemia is known to make children more vulnerable to lead poisoning.
The CDC recommends that when refugee children in the U.S. are tested for lead levels, they also be screened for anemia and have a “nutritional assessment.”…
…Once children are in the U.S., the CDC researchers say, families should be placed in “lead-safe” housing. And after their first lead test, children younger than 6 should be re-tested within six months of settling into permanent housing… Read more here
