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Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Only 6% of Pinoy infants tested for mental illness: health (10:30 a.m.)
MANILA -- The Department of Health (DOH) said Monday only six percent of the two million babies born every year in the country have been screened for any possible mental defects.
Citing records from the National Institute Health (NIH) of the University of the Philippines (UP), DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III said only 120,000 newborn babies in the country have undergone newborn screening (NBS).
Four babies are born everyday in the Philippines.
Duque said it is important that newborn babies undergo NBS in order to determine if there are abnormalities and mental defects that may manifest in the future.
“The screening allows congenital metabolic disorders to surface since these do not manifest during birth,” he said in a press briefing.
Duque admitted that the lack of funds is the reason why the government fails to impose NBS on newborn infants. He said the cost of NBS is P550, which means that the government needs P330 million for it.
He however said they are planning to tap other government agencies to raise the needed funds. He added that they will ask the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth) and the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) to set aside a certain portion of their respective budgets to cover expenses for NBS.
Dr. Eden Latosa of the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center (JRMMC) said there is a need for newborn babies to undergo NBS in order to prevent life-threatening disorders that may result in brain damage and death.
Latosa said for every 1,900 infants screened, one is tested positive of metabolic disorders.
Republic Act (RA) 9288 or the Newborn Screening Act of 2004 was enacted to ensure that babies will be screened within 24 to 72 hours after delivery for disorders like congenital hypothyroidism, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, galactosemia, phenylketonuria and glucose-6-phosphate-dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PD deficiency).
NBS, Latosa added, is done through analyzing blood samples and by pricking the heel of the infant and taking four drops of blood onto a filter paper. (MSN) |
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