Thank you for your article (‘It was everywhere’: how lead is poisoning America’s poorest children, 26 February). As a pediatrician in Philadelphia, I see countless children suffering from the short- and long-term consequences of lead toxicity. What I find most frustrating about caring for these children in the hospital is the number of times they are readmitted for lead toxicity treatment despite parent, state health authority and physician attempts to communicate with landlords about the health risk that their property poses.
One of my patients has been readmitted to the hospital twice in the last eight months for treatment. This patient’s family does not have a safe place to go. With each day passing that my patient lives in that home and has an elevated blood lead level, his brain is undergoing irreversible changes. My patient will have to face the various other traumas associated with living in poverty with an underdeveloped brain. It’s encouraging to see that the city is finally enforcing that all public and private housing rentals be lead-free. It will give all the children of Philadelphia to come one less hurdle to jump.
Kristine N Alexander
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
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