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Flint resident Mycal Anderson, 9, reacts to having his blood drawn for lead testing while sitting on his mother Rochelle Anderson's lap at the Flint Masonic Temple in this 2016 Flint Journal file photo.
(Conor Ralph | MLive.com)
FLINT, MI -- Tests given to 128 Flint residents may have registered falsely low blood lead levels, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services says.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday, May 17, that certain tests manufactured by Magellan Diagnostics "may provide inaccurate results for some children and adults in the United States."
The tests have been in use since 2014, the start of Flint's lead in water crisis, during which blood testing for adults and children concerned about lead exposure was routine.
MDHHS said in a news release Wednesday that less than 2 percent of lead tests performed in Michigan since 2014 -- including 128 in Flint -- were done using Magellan equipment that processed blood drawn from veins.
The CDC recommended that health care providers retest all children who are currently 6 years of age or younger who had testing taken from the vein with a result of 10 micrograms per deciliter that was analyzed using a Magellan diagnostics analyzer, MDHHS's statement says. The recommendations do not apply to tests taken from a finger or heel stick.
"While less than 2 percent of the lead tests performed statewide since 2014 were done using this Magellan equipment from a venous draw, we take this issue very seriously and will be working closely with our local health departments and health care providers to ensure they are aware of the recommendations and offering retesting as appropriate," Dr. Eden Wells, chief medical executive of MDHHS, said in the state news release. "It's important to remember that lead does not stay in the blood for very long, so a low test result today may not tell you if there was past exposure. Talk to your physician to determine if retesting is needed for your child."
MDHHS issued a Health Alert Network notification to ensure that local health departments, providers, and others in the health care community have received information from the FDA and CDC.
In an email to MLive-The Flint Journal, Genesee County Health Department Health Officer Mark Valacak said officials received information on the blood testing issue during a conference call Wednesday.
"I believe for venous (vein) draws, for which FDA and CDC are expressing a concern, that the number will be small for Flint," he said. "It is still important that we, in collaboration with the healthcare community and the MDHHS, follow up as recommended by the CDC guidelines."