Field Story
Planning for success: Nutrition International technical assistance supports the Seqota Declaration to end stunting
December 11, 2023
Exposure to environmental toxins in childhood can negatively impact health later in life. For this reason, the authors conducted a study to assess aflatoxin exposure among young children in Ethiopia using urinary biomarkers.
A cross-sectional study was conducted to measure urinary levels of five aflatoxins in 200 children aged 1-4 years in the Amhara and Tigray regional states of Ethiopia.
Aflatoxins were detected in 17% of the urine samples. This indicates a clear exposure of young children to aflatoxins in these regional states. Therefore, awareness to the public is important to prevent potential health consequences of aflatoxins.