KOCHI:It may be strange to know that Kerala, a state with a highly accomplished healthcare sector, doesn’t have even a single facility to check the lead content in blood.
People of the state are forced to depend on the other states for having the test done, with Bengaluru being the most common destination. The severity of lead poisoning came to the fore following the recent ban of Maggi, after undesired level of lead was detected in it.
“Right now, we don’t have the facility to test the level of lead in blood, though medical practitioners and the majority of the public are aware of its ill-effects. We have taken the issue seriously, against the backdrop of the recent findings that many food products contain excessive quantities of lead. We have decided to set up facilities to detect the level of lead in blood, at the national level. We will also prepare a proposal for the same. Meanwhile, it should be ensured that private sector entities do not misuse it,” health services director-in-charge S Jayasankar told ‘Express’.
Thuppil Venkatesh, Principal Advisor to Quality Council of India and National Referral Centre for Lead Projects in India, has urged the government to set up lead testing labs. He also asked the NGOs to sponsor equipment used in the lab, which cost around Rs 1.5 lakh. Venkatesh, who has travelled in all the 14 districts in the State to create awareness among school teachers on the dangers of having excessive quantities of lead in blood, said the campaign was successful.
“Between 500 to 600 people went to Bengaluru to undergo the test, and some of them had high levels of lead content in their blood,” he said. If not treated, lead poisoning could affect tissues and vital organs, including heart, bone, intestine, kidney, reproductive system and the nervous system. It particularly affects children, by causing potentially severe learning and behavioural disorders.
