Pre-marital and pre-natal tests could help prevent sickle cell: Expert

This can be achieved if women are supported by families,communities,religious leaders and policy makers. Instead of matching horoscopes before marriage which is a common practise prevailing in the society,know your sickle status for a smart decision of a lifetime,she said.

Sickle cell is a hereditary disorder associated with abnormal production of hemoglobin,sickled Hb which brings variety of clinical symptoms of varying severity she said.

Most common amongst these symptoms is pain in the bones,(commonly known as vasso-occlusive crisis) anaemia and infections.

There are two forms of Sickle Cell– Sickle Cell anaemia and Sickle Cell carriers. The carriers have an abnormal gene from any one of the parents and are therefore asymptomatic

whereas diseased patients have abnormal genes producing sickled HB from both the parents.

If two carriers marry,there is a 25 per cent chance in each pregnancy that the child will be diseased. All control programmes therefore focus on preventing the disease in the new generation.

Sickle cell disease produces delayed onset of menstruation in girls and delayed conception. Shrikhande said it was unfortunate that though the first case was detected in year 1910,no national policy has been framed by the government to control it since then.

Though the Maharashtra government under the Sickle Cell Control programme has made mandatory pre-marital screening for females in the reproductive age group and pregnant women,an awareness program is needed among the community,Shrikhande,a Nodal Officer of Pilot Project of State Government’s Control Programme told PTI on the occasion of Sickle Cell Week being observed from February 28-March 6.

The abnormal gene is frequently seen in Maharashtra,Chattisgarh,Gujarat,Tamil Nadu and Odisha,Shrikhande said adding that central India is a hub of the disease and the gene frequency ranges between 13-15 per cent.

With a annual disease birth rate of 260 and a carrier birth rate of around 7500,an estimated population of four lakh carriers and 22,000 diseased patients are seen in Nagpur and other parts. The disease is prevalent among low socio-income group,illiterate tribal population and the schedule castes.

She said the pilot project launched by the Maharashtra Government in 2001 and its strengthening of medical and laboratory facilities has helped both rural and urban

population. She said the state operates eight medical institutions for screening female patients – one each in Aurangabad,Mumbai,Dhule,Yavatmal,Akola and Nanded and two in Nagpur.