AFLATOXINS IN AUTOPSY KIDNEY SPECIMENS FROM CHILDREN IN NIGERIA

Autopsy kidney specimens from 24 children with kwashiorkor and 21 with other miscellaneous diseases, at the Obafemi Awolowo Teaching Hospita l Complex, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, were analyzed for the presence of aflatox ins using high-performance liquid chromatography. Aflatoxins were dete cted in 14 children who died of kwashiorkor and in 13 of those who die d from miscellaneous diseases. Aflatoxicol was detected in 10 specimen s, 7 of which had severe gastroenteritis. Seven kidney specimens demon strated the presence of more than one type of aflatoxin; four of these were kidneys of patients with kwashiorkor and the remaining three die d from renal failure. No difference was found between the frequency of detection, type of aflatoxin detected, or mean concentrations of tota l aflatoxins in the kidney specimens of the kwashiorkor children when compared to the kidney specimens of children who died from miscellaneo us diseases. These findings demonstrate that aflatoxins can be detecte d in the kidneys of children exposed to aflatoxins.