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Need stressed to raise thalassaemia awareness
Recent studies show that eight to 10 per cent of UAE nationals are carriers of the beta-globin gene located on chromosome 11 of human DNA.
Carriers of the gene, should they marry other carriers, would risk giving birth to children suffering from thalassaemia major, a rare but severe anaemia that requires regular blood transfusion and treatment for iron overload, a health official said.
Dr Mahmood Taleb, Chairman of the Emirates Thalassaemia Society (ETS), told Khaleej Times that there was a need to spread awareness about this disease among people and encourage them to have pre-marital blood tests as a means to screen carriers of the beta-globin gene.
Dr Taleb yesterday addressed children and parents gathered at the Dubai Creek Park for 'Celebrating Courage', an outdoor event to mark International Thalassaemia Day, which is observed the world over on May 8. The event was sponsored by Johnson & Johnson in coordination with the ETS at the Thalassaemia and Genetic Centre at Al Wasl Hospital.
"One of our most important achievements is that we managed to get information on thalassaemia included into the science curriculum in schools. We have also received recognition from the Thalassaemia International Federation (TIF), which is an organ of the World Health Organisation.
"In 1997, when ETS was established by family members of thalassaemia patients, five per cent of the local population had heard of thalassaemia; today we estimate that 80 per cent know about the disease and how to stop it from spreading," Dr Taleb said.
Dr Abdullah Al Khayat, director of Al Wasl Hospital, said that the disease was not specific to a region or ethnic group and was not just the result of inter-marriages between close relatives, but it was a condition which afflicted small communities in general where people had limited choices of marriage partners. The disease was rampant in some coastal areas of Italy before it was eradicated by raising people's awareness about the disease.
"It is important to know that Thalassaemia is not infectious but that you can prevent it. Today you find both Thalassaemic and non-Thalassaemic kids having fun enjoying a day out, you cannot tell who has the disease and who does not."
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