KOZHIKODE: Sickle cell anaemia, found to have affected a number of tribal people in Wayanad, would be the focus of a seminar to be held at Kalpetta on February 11.

The Swami Vivekananda Medical Mission at Muttil, the Indian Medical Association's (IMA) Wayanad unit and the Wayanad unit of the Kerala Government Medical Officers' Association (KGMOA), is holding the programme jointly.

This was said at a press conference on Tuesday by Dr. K. Vijayakrishnan, chairman of the organising committee of the conference; Dr. Anuj Singhal, its secretary and K.A. Ashokan, secretary of the Swami Vivekananda Medical Mission.

Dr. Graham R. Serjeant, chairman of the Sickle Cell Anaemia Trust in Jamaica, Dr. P.K. Sasidharan, Professor of Medicine at Kozhikode medical college and Dr. S.L. Kate would be among the speakers.

Dr. Graham Serjeant would also examine patients suffering from the disease in Wayanad.

The volunteers of the Swami Vivekananda Medical Mission detected cases of sickle cell anaemia during their visits to tribal colonies in 1983.

With the support of the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, a diagnosis and counselling centre was set up at Swami Vivekananda Medical Mission at Muttil in 1992.

Since mortality was high in sick cell patients, a control programme was started in 1998 in the district by AIIMS with the help of the Wayanad district administration and the mission. The three-year programme was extended by one more year and completed in February 2002. Under this project 1,09,554 persons belonging to tribal communities from 21 panchayats were enrolled. Of the 74,751 persons screened, 8,204 were found to be carriers of sickle haemoglobin and 1,378 found to be affected with sickle cell disease.

Carriers of the disease were given counselling under the second phase of the programme.

Vivekananda Medical Mission at Muttil treats nearly 300 cases and 50 in-patients a month on an average. Tribal patients and persons belonging to the economically weaker sections are given free treatment.

The Arya Vaidya Sala at Kottakkal gives provides medicines free of cost. Three bamboo handicraft units were started for rehabilitation of the patients with the support of the State Government's Tribal Welfare department.

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