TY - JOUR
T1 - Lead Poisoning in a West Bank Arab Village
AU - Hershko, Chaim
AU - Abrahamov, Ayala
AU - Moreb, Jan
AU - Hersh, Moshe
AU - Shiffman, Reuben
AU - Shahin, Ahmad
AU - Richter, Elihu D.
AU - Konijn, Abraham M.
AU - Weissenberg, Emil
AU - Graver, Fernanda
AU - Avni, Alma
AU - Shahin, Said
AU - Eisenberg, Aharon
AU - Yaffe, Yehiam
PY - 1984/10
Y1 - 1984/10
N2 - Eleven patients from the West Bank village of Es-Sawiyeh were admitted with lead poisoning to two Jerusalem hospitals between November 1982 and January 1983. They all belonged to several households of a single large family. Colicky abdominal pains were present in five patients, weakness in four, behavioral changes ranging from irritability to frank psychosis in four, and paralysis in one. Anemia of various degrees was seen in all patients. Basophilic stippling and reticulocytosis were encountered in all patients with moderate to severe anemia. Therapy with edetate disodium calcium and penicillamine resulted in clinical improvement in all patients. A preliminary survey of 270 subjects in the same village disclosed 84 subjects with abnormally elevated blood lead levels, 17 of whom had grade IV lead burden according to the Centers for Disease Control risk classification. Contamination of homemade flour by lead used for stabilizing the metal parts of stone mills was the source of poisoning. As the method of milling in many West Bank villages is similar, these findings may have important implications to the well being of a large section of the rural West Bank population.
AB - Eleven patients from the West Bank village of Es-Sawiyeh were admitted with lead poisoning to two Jerusalem hospitals between November 1982 and January 1983. They all belonged to several households of a single large family. Colicky abdominal pains were present in five patients, weakness in four, behavioral changes ranging from irritability to frank psychosis in four, and paralysis in one. Anemia of various degrees was seen in all patients. Basophilic stippling and reticulocytosis were encountered in all patients with moderate to severe anemia. Therapy with edetate disodium calcium and penicillamine resulted in clinical improvement in all patients. A preliminary survey of 270 subjects in the same village disclosed 84 subjects with abnormally elevated blood lead levels, 17 of whom had grade IV lead burden according to the Centers for Disease Control risk classification. Contamination of homemade flour by lead used for stabilizing the metal parts of stone mills was the source of poisoning. As the method of milling in many West Bank villages is similar, these findings may have important implications to the well being of a large section of the rural West Bank population.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84948722050&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1001/archinte.1984.04400010077015
DO - 10.1001/archinte.1984.04400010077015
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C2 - 6435557
AN - SCOPUS:84948722050
SN - 0003-9926
VL - 144
SP - 1969
EP - 1973
JO - Archives of Internal Medicine
JF - Archives of Internal Medicine
IS - 10
ER -
