More than a hundred gynaecologists, pediatrician and radiologists, who assembled in Bokaro recently, to share their views on prenatal diagnosis and screening for infection during pregnancies, have raised concern over growing cases of thalassemia and sickle cell anaemia among the tribal people of Jharkhand.

Doctors from Maharashtra, Kolkata, Bihar and other parts of the region participated in a conference organized by the Indian Society of Perinatology and Reproductive Biology (ISOPARB), Bokaro Chapter at Rotary Club at Sector-IV here on Sunday. The session acquainted doctors with the recent advances in prenatal diagnosis and infections.

Certain diseases like sickle cell anemia and thalassemia are more prevalent in the tribal areas. The doctors have come across the growing number of these two cases in the state. “We have found that tribal women suffer from certain diseases in the country. We, with the help of local chapter, are going to conduct a research project in Jharkhand to find out why certain diseases are prevalent in a particular community,” said Sah.
Leading gynaecologist from Mumbai and national president, ISOPARB, Milind Sah said, “Many of the conditions which people mistook as natural can now be diagnosed and managed with the help of screening. The society should be made aware of the new screening technology for better diagnosis results.”

Sah said that there are many new diseases being diagnosed due to coming up of laboratories.
Eminent pediatrician, Subodh Chandra Munsi said in the conference that he comes across one or two cases of sickle cell anaemia and thalassemia among tribal patients every month. This should be minimized through proper diagnosis for which gynaecologists of this region should be more particular during screening.
“The tribal women can be screened properly related to this genetic inherited disorder. If doctors find any symptoms during the first screening, they should be further tested for haemoglobin electrophoresis test for better diagnosis. It is a blood test to measure and identify the different types of haemoglobin in the bloodstream,” said Munsi.

Another, prominent gynaecologist from Patna, Anita Sinha, who spoke on screening of infections during pregnancies said, “The child in the womb is susceptible to many types of infections. Timely screening can cure these infections. He asked gynaecologists to add Rubella and CMV viral infection in routine screening which comprises HIV, Hepatitis-B and syphilis. The cases of rubella are seen in developing countries”.

 

source:TOI