Washington DC, US

In the United States, at least 22 toddlers fell ill from lead linked to pouches of cinnamon apple puree and apple sauce, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said. 

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Health officials have warned doctors to be alert over the possible cases of lead poisoning after its detection in at least 14 states. 

CDC said in a statement that it is "issuing this Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory to advise clinicians and health departments to consider the possibility of illness due to lead exposure and report cases to their local health authorities". 

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CDC said that children ages 1 to 3 were affected. The health agency also noted that at least one child showed a blood lead level eight times higher than the level that raises concern. 

According to the CDC, a marker of 3.5 microgrammes per deciliter is used to identify children with higher levels of lead than most. Notably, there's no safe level of exposure. 

The report also mentioned that the affected children's blood lead levels ranged from 4 to 29 microgrammes per deciliter. 

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The health agency said that the FDA, CDC, and state and local partners are probing a potential link between high BLLs and consuming certain cinnamon-containing apple purée and applesauce products. 

Illness linked to lead exposure may result in headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, or a change in activity level and anaemia. 

The investigation is linked to a recent outbreak which was tied to recalled pouches of fruit puree marketed to kids. 

It was from the brands WanaBana apple cinnamon fruit puree and Schnucks and Weis cinnamon applesauce pouches, The Associated Press reported.  

(With inputs from agencies)