Lead in umbilical cord blood and associated factors in Casablanca Morocco: A preliminary results.

Background: Lead is the most common toxic metal to which Moroccans are exposed. Given the susceptibility of the fetus to lead, it is crucial to assess prenatal lead exposure. However, in Morocco, no study has assessed prenatal exposure to lead.

First WHO/UNEP survey of the current concentrations of persistent organic pollutants in human milk in Morocco.

The presence of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in human milk is an indicator of the level of these substances in the environment and enables evaluation of the potential exposure of breastfed children. POPs concentrations in a Moroccan human milk pooled sample (59 donors) were determined for the first time by the WHO reference laboratory to provide a baseline and allow monitoring of the future trends for those persistent organohalogen compounds. Eighty-one different POPs, including organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs) were identified and quantified by using gas chromatography (GC) with an electron capture detector (ECD) and confirmed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/LRMS).

Lead poisoning with encephalic and neuropathic involvement in a child: case report.

Lead is a toxic substance in our environment that affects adults and children of all socioeconomic backgrounds, lead poisoning is one of the most common exposures that can cause inter alia significant neurological and functional damage in humans. Children are particularly vulnerable because of the effects of the toxicity on their developing nervous systems with potentially irreversible consequences. We report a case of severe lead poisoning encephalo-neuropathy in a 3-year-old girl, admitted for progressive paraplegia, swallowing disorders, and aphasia.

Hair mercury levels in relation to fish consumption in a community of the Moroccan Mediterranean coast.

Coastal populations with high seafood consumption in the Mediterranean have a significant exposure to dietary methylmercury, and areas where environmental mercury pollution is an issue due to industrial activities are of special concern. The study was undertaken with the aim of assessing methylmercury exposure through fish consumption in a community of north Morocco and characterizing the relevant health risk. Concentrations of total mercury were determined in human hair, a biomarker of methylmercury exposure, and in locally consumed fish by cold vapour atomic absorption spectrophotometry.