NEW YORK, NY August 24, 2006 —The number of city children between the ages of 6 months and 6 years who were poisoned by lead dropped last year, continuing a long-term trend.

There was a 17 percent decline last year, bringing the drop in lead poisoning down to 2,600 cases. A decade ago, it was almost 20,000. A Health Department official says it’s too soon to tell if tighter lead paint regulations imposed on landlords in 2004 have anything to do with the most recent dip.

Some progress has been made in the so-called “lead belt,” but neighborhoods including East New York, Bushwick and Crown Heights still account for a large proportion of the city’s cases. A national goal set by the Centers for Disease Control hopes to eliminate lead poisoning by 2010.