"The most likely cause of an increase in childhood deaths is malaria, which kills more than 400,000 children a year and can cause seizures. But there was no report of the spiking fevers that characterize malaria. Lack of fever also made pneumonia, the most common cause of childhood death, less likely. The absence of diarrhea and dehydration ruled out cholera and other intestinal infections, the third most common cause of death."
"Investigation found that none of the above caused the sudden increase in deaths. It took time and specialized laboratory testing to conclude something that would have been obvious to public health experts a hundred years ago: The combination of abdominal pain, headaches, seizures, and death is a classic presentation of lead poisoning. Lead stores energy in batteries, shields against radiation, gives glass crystal its brilliance, and makes paint more luminous and cars run more smoothly."
In 2010 an outbreak in the Anka area of Zamfara, northern Nigeria caused dozens of severe abdominal pain, headache, seizures, and deaths. Common causes of childhood death — malaria, pneumonia, cholera, and meningitis — were considered but were unlikely because typical signs such as spiking fever, diarrhea, or dehydration were absent. Investigation and specialized laboratory testing identified lead poisoning as the cause. Lead is used in batteries, radiation shielding, glass, paint, and automobile components. Lead accumulates in bones, brains, and organs and causes cognitive impairment, hyperactivity, behavioral problems, reduced fertility, and increased heart and kidney disease. Historical warnings already cautioned against lead in drinking water.
Read at Big Think
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