Case Study: Bangladesh Contaminated Spice

In 2018, Steve Luby, a medical researcher at Stanford University, was leading a randomized control trial looking at the effects of water sanitation and hygiene on child development and health outcomes in rural areas in Bangladesh. He was collecting blood samples from pregnant women and children. Alarming results were returned, indicating high levels of lead present in pregnant women’s blood. This case study explores the source of lead, and highlights how within four years, Forsyth’s follow-up survey found little to no lead levels in pregnant women throughout rural Bangladesh.