Experts Discuss Ways to Continue Newborn
Screening During Disasters
Newborn babies are screened for certain
medical conditions when they are born. Many conditions
can be treated if they are found early enough. But what
happens when a baby is born during a natural or manmade
disaster? In the wake of 9/11 and Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita much attention has been paid to the importance
of emergency planning.
In February, HRSA's Maternal and Child Health Bureau, through its cooperative agreement with the National Coordinating Center for Genetics and Newborn Screening, convened a first-ever meeting of the Emergency Preparedness for Newborn Screening and Genetic Services National Workgroup. |
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Members of the workgroup - which included experts from the medical genetics and public health communities, federal and state governments, as well as industry and consumer advocacy groups - worked to develop the plans and infrastructure needed to maintain vital newborn screening and genetic services during and immediately following a disaster.
"This workgroup is another step toward ensuring that time-sensitive and life-saving genetic services are available uninterrupted regardless of location during an emergency," said Dr. Michele A. Lloyd-Puryear, Chief of the Genetic Services Branch in HRSA's Maternal and Child Health Bureau. "The disaster response tools they develop will be made available for adaptation by local, regional and national organizations so that infants are able to complete screening in a timely manner and maintain their access to critical treatments and health care providers."
Newborn screening is a public health activity that identifies infants affected by certain genetic, metabolic, hormonal or functional conditions which early interventions can effectively treat.
Over the last 40 years, the success of newborn screening programs has made screening routine for babies born in the United States. Most of these tests can be done using a few drops of blood routinely taken from the newborn's heel, usually in the hospital in the first days after birth. By law, each state or region operates its own newborn screening programs, which vary in the number and types of conditions for which they test.
At present, infants are tested universally for certain genetic conditions, such as hemoglobinopathies, metabolic disorders, and other congenital conditions. Today, advances in technology enable many different newborn screening tests. HRSA's Maternal and Child Health Bureau supports newborn screening activities nationwide.
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Printer-friendly March 2007 Inside HRSA (Acrobat/PDF)
