Prevalence of Selenium, T-2 Toxin, and Deoxynivalenol in Kashin-Beck Disease Areas in Qinghai Province, Northwest China

The aim of this study was to determine the levels of selenium, T-2 toxin, and deoxynivalenol (DON) contamination in Kashin-Beck disease (KBD) areas and provide information for understanding the high prevalence of KBD in Qinghai Province. A total of 183 subjects were chosen in a KBD-prevalent county (Guide County) and a non-KBD county (Huangzhong County) in Qinghai Province, northwestern China, and the samples of wheat flour, soil, drinking water and blood, urine, and hair of children were collected from these residents. The selenium concentrations from all these sources were determined using atomic fluorescence spectrophotometry. The levels of T-2 toxin and DON contamination in the wheat flour samples were assayed using HPLC-MS/MS. The average selenium content in the soil, drinking water, and wheat flour samples from KBD areas were 26.93 +/- 10.06 mu g/kg, 0.097 +/- 0.038 mu g/L, and 9.50 +/- 7.17 mu g/kg, respectively. Among these, the selenium levels in the drinking water and wheat flour samples from the KBD endemic county were significantly lower than those from the non-KBD county. For the selenium nutrient status, only the hair selenium concentration of children from the KBD endemic county was significantly lower than that from the non-KBD county. The contents of T-2 toxin in all wheat samples were below the detection limit (0.4 mu g/kg). The levels of DON contamination in wheat flour samples from KBD and non-KBD children's households within the KBD endemic county were relatively higher, with average levels of 302 +/- 49 and 280 +/- 48 mu g/kg, respectively. The DON level of wheat flour samples from the children's households in the non-KBD county was significantly lower than that from the KBD endemic county. These results suggest that the lower selenium status in Guide County still remains. While the selenium nutritional status of the local children has improved to some extent, partly due to the introduction of food produce from nonlocal areas. DON contamination in the wheat flour may be involved in the fluctuating high prevalence rates of KBD in children in the KBD endemic Guide County in Qinghai Province.