Focus: GS II- Health
Why in News?
International Thalassemia Day is a global healthcare event commemorated every year on May 8th to raise awareness on Thalassemia among the masses.
- This year’s theme, “Empowering Lives, Embracing Progress: Equitable and Accessible Thalassemia Treatment for All,” encapsulates the collective mission toward universal access to comprehensive Thalassemia care.
- Union Health Secretary stressed on the importance of timely detection and prevention of Thalassemia to tackle the disease and the need for wide awareness around the subject.
- Currently, there are almost 1 lakh Thalassemia patients in the country, with approximately 10,000 new cases reported each year.
About Thalassemia:
- Thalassemia is a genetic blood condition in which the body generates insufficient haemoglobin. Haemoglobin is a protein molecule found in red blood cells that transports oxygen. Anemia is caused by the severe loss of red blood cells caused by this illness.
- Anaemia is a condition in which the number of red blood cells or haemoglobin is lower than usual.
- It is a hereditary disorder that is caused mostly by faulty haemoglobin production. It is passed down by one of the parents who is a carrier of the disease due to a genetic mutation or deletion of specific critical gene segments.
- Parents are usually asymptomatic as carriers and there is a 25 per cent chance of passing it on to their children.
- Acute thalassemia may require regular blood transfusions, whereas mild thalassemia does not require therapy.
- Effects:
- It affects all organs of the body. It starts with the bone marrow being unable to produce adequate haemoglobin.
- The liver and spleen also come under pressure and overworked.
- Sometimes thalassemics experience facial bone deformities.
Importance of preventive screening and awareness:
- A person living with thalassemia has a life-long struggle.
- The cost of maintaining a child with Thalassemia Major is almost Rs 2 lakh per year.
- The rate of picking up a Thalassemia trait is 3-4 per cent. This means for every 100 people screened, there would be at least three to four people detected with the trait.
- Hence preventive screening is an important measure.
- Testing people for Thalassemia carrier status in society is very important to prevent the birth of a single Thalassemic child.
