Doha, February 26 (QNA) - Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) revealed today that more than 295,000 newborns have been screened for metabolic and endocrine diseases, including rare diseases, since the launch of Qatar's Newborn Screening Program in 2003. Qatar is the first country in the region to set up a national screening program for newborn babies in December 2003. Among newborns who have undergone rigorous tests, 958 have been diagnosed with rare disorders or genetic diseases. According to Dr. Ghassan Abdoh, Senior Consultant of Pediatric Neonatology and Head of HMC's Newborn Screening Unit, which is based at the Women's Wellness and Research, all newborns in the State of Qatar undergo screening tests for diseases and disorders associated with metabolism and endocrine under Qatar's Newborn Screening Program.

 Dr. Abdoh explained in a press statement today that Newborn Screening Program provided by the State, free of charge for all newborns in Qatar, is one of the most successful public health programs at the level of prevention, where the tests conducted at birth detected about 32 health disorders at the launch of the program and rose after that to more than 80 detected diseases. He pointed out that the tests have been recently introduced to detect blood diseases and the next step is to add more tests, pointing out that the rate of metabolic disorders does not exceed one case out of 961 children, while the rate of endocrine disorders is one case out of 1767 children.

 On the occasion of Rare Disease Day, which the world mars every year on the last day of February, the Head of Clinical and Metabolic Genetics at HMC Dr. Tawfiq bin Omran, called for ensuring that newborns undergo early detection of rare genetic diseases during the first 72 hours after birth, explaining that the routine examination known as "heel prick" test is conducted after taking a blood specimen from the baby's heel. He pointed out that the purpose of blood tests conducted after birth is to search for treatable diseases, which do not usually show symptoms in newborns, as early detection of these diseases protect against serious health complications and contribute to saving lives. He added that rare diseases are characterized by a variety of health disorders and symptoms, which vary according to the type of disease and the state of health of each patient. He stressed that all newborns should undergo tests for the detection of rare genetic diseases, including the most common in the State of Qatar, such as (Homocystinuria) and (cobalamin inherited) known as vitamin B12 deficiency, and therefore it is important to raise awareness of the role of newborn examination for prompt treatment for these and other rare diseases.

 He pointed out that according to international statistics, one out of 20 people will have a rare disease at a certain stage of his life, and rare diseases are often among the chronic degenerative conditions that develop slowly and threaten the patient's life, but it is possible for newly born children with rare disease to live a normal life if the disease is diagnosed and treated at an early stage. HMC announced earlier this month that it will partner with German Heidelberg University Hospital to establish a national center for rare diseases in Qatar. (QNA)