The Ministry of Health and Population on Saturday announced that 267,000 babies have so far been screened as part of a presidential initiative for the early detection of genetic diseases in newborns.
Launched under the “100 Million Healthy Lives” presidential initiative, this campaign kicked off on July 13, 2021 and aims to build a disability-free healthy generation.
The first phase of the initiative includes detecting 19 genetic diseases in premature infants in hospital nurseries that are affiliated with the Ministry of Health and Population, said the ministry’s Spokesman Hossam Abdel Ghaffar.
He added that the second phase entails screening newborns in all nurseries of university hospitals, private hospitals and health units nationwide.
According to Wael Abdel-Razek, head of the health care and nursing sector, the 19 diseases being screened for include congenital hypothyroidism, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, folic anemia, cystic fibrosis, hereditary hyperlipidemia, phenylketonuria, tetraplegic deficiency Hydropetrin, organic acidity, elevated blood Isovaleric acidemia, elevated blood propionate/methylmalone, maple urine disease, blood tyrosine elevation-type 1, hypergalactosemia, elevated urine homocysteine, elevated blood arginine, elevated blood citrulline, ornithine deficiency Carbamoyl transporter, fatty acid oxidation and biotinidase deficiency.
The screening is carried out by taking a blood sample from the child’s heel, and analyzing it at the Egyptian Centre for Diseases and Control (ECDC), Abdel-Razek explained.
