Health experts have raised warning on the rising number of Vietnamese children with serious lead poisoning, especially those using low-quality traditional medicines. Nearly 3,000 children, mostly aged two months to three years old, from 24 provinces and cities have been hospitalized for lead contamination over the past two years, Head of the Hanoi-based Bach Mai Hospital’s Poison Control Center Pham Due said. Mr. Due said the poisoning cause was linked to a kind of powder often used to treat thrush as well as stimulate and improve health. The powder medicine could contain poisonous heavy metals, including lead or arsenic. Apart from lead-tainted traditional medicines, people are exposed to lead from different sources, such as contaminated air, food or juice stored in cans made with lead-based glazes, as well as toys with high lead content. He noted that lead poisoning could result in problems with the nervous system, loss of consciousness, paralysis and anaemia, hampering the physical and intellectual development of children. It takes several years to treat diseases caused by lead poisoning because of the lack of specialist medicine. Even when lead is filtered out of children’s bodies, most continue to suffer for the rest of their lives, according to experts. Despite the rising number of children with lead poisoning, the government has not yet conducted any national survey on the issue, he said, adding that the number of such ill kids is estimated at tens of thousands. (Kinh Te Do Thi Oct 24 p8)
