Mass screening programme for sickle cell disease to begin in State
The Hindu
Mass screening programme for sickle cell disease to begin in State
Karnataka is set to begin a mass screening programme of vulnerable tribal communities across seven districts of the State for Sickle Cell Disease (SCD).
Deputy Director of Department of Health and Family Welfare Dr Shakila, who is also the nodal officer for Sickle Cell programme, visited the field station of Institute of Public Health (IPH) and the Centre for Training, Research and Innovation in Tribal Health (CTRITH) at BR Hills in Chamarajanagar district near here earlier this week in the connection.
As part of the Sickle Cell Mission programme, the Union government has set a screening target of 3.5 lakh people aged 0 to 40 years in vulnerable tribal communities in Karnataka. Over the next three years, vulnerable tribal communities in Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Kodagu, Udupi, Chickmagaluru, Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada will be screened.
CTRITH’s Co-Principal Investigator Deepa Bhat, who is also a professor at JSS Medical College, Mysuru, besides Programme Head Tanya Seshadri and Public and Policy Engagement Officer Praveen Rao S were also present on the occasion.
The Sickle Cell Mission programme is part of the Union Government’s goal is to increase awareness, reduce prevalence and improve care of patients with Sickle Cell disease, a hereditary disorder that primarily affects Indian tribes, accounting for world’s second highest prevalence, according to note from CTRITH.
As part of the mission, the Union government aims to screen about 7 crore people in all the major tribal-populated states in the country including Karnataka, where the screening target is 3.5 lakh.
The State Health Department has taken the programme seriously and is making all preparations such as forming a committee consisting of officials from the Tribal Welfare Department, health experts working on haemoglobinopathies, public health experts from the government, medical colleges and NGOs working on SCD.