Lead Poisoning

What is lead poisoning?

Lead poisoning affects a child’s brain, nervous system, and red blood cells as they grow and develop. It can cause permanent damage such as learning disabilities, speech and language problems, poor hearing, hyperactivity, and poor school performance. The good news is that there are things you can do to keep your child safe from lead.​

child at window sill

Lead poisoning in Jackson County

There has been considerable progress in the past 20 years in reducing the number of lead-poisoned children. However, currently, there has been a decline in testing, health consultation, and elimination of lead hazards. 

Blood lead testing in Jackson County as well as the State of Michigan has been down for the last couple of years.  According to Preliminary Fiscal Year 2021 data, the overall number of total children tested in Jackson County is 1,981.  The number of children with an elevated blood lead level equal to or above 4.5 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) is 68 or  3.4%.  

To get a better understanding of how these statistics look in comparison to previous years download the Jackson County Lead Statistics Page. (note: the 2021 data has not been added at this time as we are waiting for the monthly numbers from the MDHHS Lead Section before adding them. The Michigan Lead Data Briefs are also available.

Jackson County Lead Data Statistic Page

Michigan Lead Data Brief 

Find out more information about the Michigan Lead Safe Home Program by reading this pamphlet or apply with this application. 

Diagnosis

The only way to know for sure if a child has lead poisoning is to have the child tested. Your primary care physician can do a capillary or venous blood draw test to determine your child's blood lead level. It is recommended that a venous test is performed as it is the most accurate.

Magellan Lead Recall Update

In Jackson County, across the State of Michigan and the nation, there has been a significant decrease in lead testing for young children. This may be in part due to a recall of testing materials for the Magellan Lead Care machines used by many health care providers and clinics. As of Feb 14, 2022, according to the Magellan website, distribution of the LeadCare II products began again. The recall was officially noted as being lifted for LeadCare II products on the FDA site as of March 30, 2022.

NOTE: LeadCare Plus and LeadCare Ultra products are still on the recall list at this time.lead care II machine

For more information on the recall and how to order your products for your Lead Care II system, check out the following link:

Magellan website -Information on the LeadCare Test Kit “Controls Out of Range-Low” (“COOR-LO”) Recall

United States Food and Drug Administration article

U. S. Food and Drug Administration -Magellan Diagnostics Recalls LeadCare II, LeadCare Plus, and LeadCare Ultra Blood Lead Tests Due to Risk of Falsely Low Results

Lowering  of the Blood Lead Reference Value

The Centers for Disease Control lowered the reference level for intervention from 5.0 micrograms per deciliter to 3.5 micrograms per deciliter in October 2021. In May 2022 the State of Michigan Medicaid Policy was updated to align with the CDC action. 

Prevent Lead Poisoning with a Healthy Diet

All children can benefit from eating foods that are:

-High in Iron such as iron-fortified cereals, peas, beans, lentils, dried fruits, dark and leafy green vegetables.
-High in Vitamin C such as oranges, grapefruit, tomatoes, bell peppers, broccoli, potatoes, strawberries, melons, 
-High in Calcium
-Low in fats and oils

Check out the videos below.
Check out this Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Video showing the Invisible Threat of lead and where it can hide.