Bangalore: With many births still taking place at home and in the absence of proper medical screening of newborns in government hospitals, a large number of infants in the country do not reach their first birthday.

But this may change if the State and Central governments take up a programme to screen newborn babies for possible birth defects.

Both the State and Centre have evinced interest in a newborn screening method developed by R. Kishore Kumar, consultant neonatologist and Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Future Kidz, a non-governmental organisation promoting newborn health.

Screening test

The Newborn Screening Test is done on a single drop of blood collected when the baby is about two days old, using advanced technology.

The test can detect 35 congenital disorders in newborns. "We have held meetings with government officials here and made a presentation for Health Department authorities in New Delhi on this screening test.

They have shown keen interest and we are hopeful that it would be taken up as a public health initiative," said Dr. Kishore Kumar. In many developed nations, less than 10 children among 1,000 infants die in the first five years. Comparatively, in India more than 100 die before their fifth birthday.

In Karnataka, neonatal mortality (death within first 28 days of life) is 38 per 1,000 and infant mortality rate (IMR) is 51.5.

"Of the 26 million born every year, 1,30,000 deaths occur in the first month.

While the reasons for the deaths are often undetected, a large number are attributed to infections, which may not be the actual cause. In reality, infants are dying of preventable disorders," said Dr. Kishore Kumar, who has worked in the area of child health in Australia for many years. Several children might develop mental retardation, cerebral palsy or have their vital organs damaged because of metabolic disorders or hormonal defects.

Through the screening programme, newborns can be tested for health problems such as congenital hypothyroidism, where the thyroid gland of babies does not produce an adequate amount of thyroid hormone, causing retardation.

The other important disorders that can be discovered are phenylketonuria and other metabolic disorders where the baby cannot breakdown certain amino acids in the body causing brain damage; galactosaemia, which is inability of the baby to break down a milk sugar called galactose leading to cataract, liver and brain damage and other such congenital problems.

Screening for hearing is done under this programme. "Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment can greatly reduce, and often prevent, the effects of the problem for the rest of the individual's life," Dr. Kishore Kumar added.

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