AMRITSAR, Dec 3: The fourth annual meeting of World Alliance of Organisations for the Prevention of Birth Defects (WAOPB) was held here today for the first time outside Europe and America. The meeting was convened parallel to the Fourth International Symposium on Genetics, Health and Disease being held here at the Guru Nanak Bhawan auditorium of the Guru Nanak Dev University. The meeting was chaired by Dr Jai Rup Singh, chairman, ISGHD.The world-level genetic scientists who participated in this meet were unanimous that every year, half a million babies with birth defects are born in India. The burden of genetic diseases is high in all countries but it is especially so in India and other developing countries, they observed.Prof Michael Katz, president of the World Alliance highlighted the contribution that Indian geneticists are making to international research into the causes of and treatments for genetic disease. He stressed the need to increase investment in Indian genetic centres to benefit families and reduce the huge burden that genetic disorders impose on the Indian health care system.Dr I.C.Verma, of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi observed that there was agreement on the fact that birth defects were a major health scourge in both the developed and developing world.The essential role of parents in caring for those affected by birth defects in India and the importance of parent and patient groups as providers of information and support, were key messages to emerge from this meeting.Prof Indera P.Singh from New Delhi opined that we must support patient groups in forming alliances and developing networks that link them to each other and to the medical profession. He said this will raise awareness and bring much needed pressure for change. He stressed the role that genetic medicine can play in helping reduce the impact of birth defects on Indian families.Prof Jai Rup Singh from Amritsar was nominated convenor while Dr P.S.Menon from AIIMS, New Delhi was made co-convenor to liase with the World Alliance and other organisations working in the field by the representatives of Indian patient organisations present at the meeting.Meanwhile, on the second day of the International Symposium of Genetics, Dr M.Ktaz, president, WAOPB remarked that genetic diseases increased morbidity and decreased the quality of life. Many of the diseases having life-long afflictions especially diabetes, hypertension, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis have a genetic basis.Dr Katz said it was important that all persons of reproductive age ought to be given proper health care and counselling. There should also be a sharing of information about genetic diseases, diagnostic and treatment protocol at an international level.Katz said 85 per cent of deaths in hospitals of children are due to genetic defects and only 9 per cent are due to infectious diseases. He said about 2 per cent of all live births have congenital genetic abnormalities.Dr K Sprling of Institute of Human Genetics, Berlin (Germany) in his plenary lecture in the first session of the symposium on `Gene mapping towards Molecular Pathogenesis,' highlighted that spontaneous chromosomal instability in combination with growth retardation and increased cancer risk is characteristic of human genetic defects or indirectly related to DNA repair processes.
