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CDC reports on Childhood lead exposure in New Mexico due to using Kajal from Afghanistan

In January 2013, the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) received a report from an Albuquerque clinic of a refugee child aged 20 months (patient 1) with an elevated blood lead level (BLL) of 27.0 µg/dL (CDC reference value = 5.0 µg/dL). Medical staff informed NMDOH that the child and family used kajal, a traditional eye cosmetic brought from Afghanistan, their country of origin. Further investigation revealed that patient 1's brother, aged 4 months (patient 2), also had an elevated BLL of 33.5 µg/dL. Laboratory analysis of kajal used by the family showed a lead content of 54%. These two cases highlight the potential for lead poisoning among refugee populations in the United States and call attention to contaminated consumer products as a source of lead exposure.