Sickle cell disease: 192 cases in Karnataka in last one year, over 2,000 individuals diagnosed with the disease

A total of 192 cases of sickle cell disease were detected in Karnataka apart from 2,004 other persons with the sickle cell trait during the last one year when 56,000 persons from tribal communities living in seven districts of the State were screened.

The programme for mass screening of tribal communities vulnerable to sickle cell disease began on July 1, 2023, when the National Sickle Cell Elimination Mission (NSCEM) was launched, which aims to eliminate sickle cell disease from India by 2047.

The screening of persons from tribal communities aged 0 to 40 years in Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Kodagu, Udupi, Chikkamagaluru, Dakshina Kannadam and Uttara Kannada was carried out under a joint initiative of the Centre and the state government in collaboration with NGOs. When the programme was launched a year ago, the target was to screen 3.5 lakh people in three years.

Karnataka is one of the 17 states in the country where NSCEM has been launched, covering an estimated seven crore tribal population.

As per the information provided Hindu The Centre for Tribal Health Training Research and Innovation (CTRITH), an initiative of the Institute of Public Health, Bengaluru, which is part of a collaborative effort aimed at eliminating sickle cell disease, has brought people affected by the disease in Karnataka under a drug programme.

The Health Department has procured Hydroxyurea, a drug used in the management of sickle cell disease, and its officials have begun distributing it among affected persons in the districts covered under the programme.

Sickle cell disease, a genetic blood disorder and a public health problem that mainly affects tribal communities in India, can cause chronic anemia, pain, fatigue, acute chest syndrome, stroke and many other serious health complications.

CTRITH shared information about the progress of NSCEM in Karnataka on the eve of Sickle Cell Day 2024, which is celebrated with the theme “Hope through Progress: Advancing Sickle Care Globally”. Health and Family Welfare Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao is scheduled to inaugurate a programme on the occasion at the Mysuru District Panchayat on Wednesday.

Shakeela, deputy director of the state blood bank and nodal officer for implementation of NSCEM in Karnataka, said collaboration with the tribal welfare department, NGOs and organisations working on sickle cell disease had given a big boost to the programme in Karnataka, while the district tuberculosis officer, who was the nodal officer at the district level, had been the key pillar for its effective implementation.

Professor Deepa Bhatt at JSS Medical College and Hospital, who is an SCD specialist and also a co-principal investigator at CTRITH, said they have developed a population-based haemoglobinopathy registry for SCD patients. “This dynamic application helps in maintaining a patient registry in real-time, providing online information about the diagnosis and management of SCD,” she said.