Neonatal jaundice with reference to aflatoxins: an aetiological study in Zaria, northern Nigeria

Two prospective studies were undertaken to determine a possible relationship between perinatal aflatoxin exposure and neonatal jaundice. First, cord blood samples from 37 neonates who subsequently developed jaundice and from 40 non-jaundiced (control) babies were analysed for six major aflatoxins and aflatoxicol. Peripheral blood samples of both groups were also analysed postnatally for aflatoxins. In a second study, serum aflatoxin levels of 64 jaundiced neonates admitted from outside the hospital were compared with levels in 60 non-jaundiced control babies. Aflatoxins were detected in 14 (37.8%) cord blood samples of jaundiced neonates and in nine (22.5%) of the controls. The mean cord aflatoxin concentration was highest in jaundiced neonates with septicaemia, but the difference was not statistically significant. The frequency of detection of aflatoxins in peripheral blood was not significantly different in jaundiced and non-jaundiced babies. Aflatoxins were detected in the blood of over 50% of neonates with jaundice of 'unknown' aetiology. There was no correlation between severity of hyperbilirubinaemia and serum aflatoxin levels. Further studies are needed to determine the extent of pre- and postnatal exposure to aflatoxin in Nigerian infants and the effects of such exposure on fetal and neonatal health.