Ayurvedic lead poisoning: an under-recognized, international problem.

In this issue, Singh and colleagues[1] highlight the persistent international problem of heavy metal contamination, particularly lead, in traditional medicine products (TMPs). Certain TMPs from Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have all been associated with lead poisonings.[2] With travel and migration, contaminated TMPs have resulted in heavy metal intoxications in persons residing in countries far from the medications’ origins, including North America, Europe and Oceania. The United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported on lead poisoning due to traditional remedies several times in recent decades, most recently describing 12 cases of lead poisoning due to Ayurvedic TMPs between 2000 and 2003.[3]