Now Reading: Nandurbar screens 5 lakh for sickle cell, decentralises care
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Nandurbar screens 5 lakh for sickle cell, decentralises care
Nandurbar district in Maharashtra has screened nearly 5 lakh people for sickle cell disease under the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission, writes district collector in a first-person account. Trait prevalence runs…
The Story in Brief
Nandurbar district in Maharashtra has screened nearly 5 lakh people for sickle cell disease under the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission, writes district collector in a first-person account. Trait prevalence runs 15-20% against the assumed 10%, and disease prevalence is 1-1.5%. The district uses high performance liquid chromatography and dried blood spot genetic testing developed by the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology to reach remote habitations without cold chain.
Hydroxyurea has been decentralised to primary health centres so patients no longer travel 50km for medicine. A helpline calls patients proactively, disability certificates have jumped from about 100 to 1,500 in a year, and monthly sickle cell melas build support groups in Bhili and Pawri languages. The district has started using e-Suchi, its digital health directory, to map patients, but prevention at scale and social security delivery remain unfinished.
The Indian Opinion
A district collector has written a frank account, but headlines often reduce the story to a number: 5 lakh screened. The harder part is what happens after the test. The lazy narrative frames elimination as a target to be hit rather than a tangle of counselling, drug supply, and follow-up. Nandurbar's real test remains prevention at scale. Will the district register enough carriers to change marriage choices? Watch how many of the 15-20% trait carriers return for genetic counselling, not just treatment.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
