Parents urged to have babies checked for metabolic disorder

The Department of Health (DOH) has again called on parents to submit their newborn infants to newborn screening (NBS) to detect any congenital metabolic disorder that they might have.

According to DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III, some 33,000 Filipino babies are born each year with such disorders but their parents are not aware of it.

Duque said through NBS, the condition of the infants could immediately be known and proper treatment could be applied.

"The newborn screening is a simple procedure to find out if a baby has a medical condition that can result in mental retardation or even death if not treated immediately," he noted.

NBS is mandated under Republic Act 9288 or the Newborn Screening Act.

Blood samples collected from the babies are tested for congenital hypothyroidism (CH), Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH), Galactosemia (GAL), Phenylketonuria (PKU) and Glucose-6-Phosphate-Dehydrogenase Deficiency (G6PD deficiency).

CH is caused by under-activity of the thyroid gland. This results in underproduction of thyroid hormones that are essential for normal physical growth and development.

GAL, on the other hand, is a hereditary disease that is caused by the lack of a liver enzyme required to digest glactose.

CAH pertains to a set of inherited disorders that occurs in both females and males because of excess production of male hormones. PKU is a hereditary disease caused by the lack of a liver enzyme required to digest phenylalanine.

G6PD is the most common genetic enzyme deficiency that causes premature destruction of red blood cells (hemolytic anemia) when an affected individual is exposed to certain foods, medications, chemicals or pollen.

NBS was piloted in 24 hospitals in Metro Manila in 1996 until the law was passed last year. Each screening costs about