JAIPUR: Fluorosis has engulfed eight major districts of Rajasthan causing serious human, dental and skeletal abnormalities, according to a UNICEF report.

Atleast 16,560 out of 33,211 villages in the country, about 51 per cent, have reported excessive concentration of fluoride in the range of 1.5-3.0 ppm (parts per million) affecting people of all age group in rural and urban population in Rajasthan alone, quoting the report UNICEF state representative Satish Kumar said on Tuesday.

As per a WHO report, 20 per cent of the fluoride-affected villages in the world are in India and 10 per cent are in Rajasthan, Kumar said.

More than 70 per cent of the state’s population depends upon ground water and due to high levels of fluoride, there is widespread contamination, he said.