and a normal one
Credit: Betty Pace
Aggressive public health campaigns are needed to educate people in sub-Saharan Africa about sickle cell disease (SCD), according to a professor of health studies.
William Ebomoyi, PhD, of Chicago State University in Illinois, investigated the prevalence of SCD in sub-Saharan Africa, assessed the physical and emotional ramifications of the disease, evaluated ethical and legal issues related to SCD, and assessed the socio-cultural implications of the disease.
He reported his findings in the International Journal of Medical Engineering and Informatics.
Dr Ebomoyi explained that SCD occurs from a change in valine to glutamine substitution in the sixth amino acid position of the beta globin chain. If one of the two beta globin genes is affected, a person simply has sickle cell trait (SCT), but if both genes are involved, the person has SCD.
If two people with SCT decide to have a child, there is a 50% chance that child will have SCT, a 25% chance the child will have SCD, and a 25% chance the child will have neither condition. If one parent has SCT, there is a 50% chance the child will have SCT.
In some communities in sub-Saharan Africa, up to 2% of all children are born with SCD. And the prevalence of SCT ranges from 10% to 40% across equatorial Africa.
Dr Ebomoyi said early screening to identify infants with SCD is needed, as life-threatening complications can occur within the first 3 years of life. Unfortunately, the method of choice for SCD screening—cellulose acetate accompanied by citrate agar electrophoresis—is only available in two sub-Saharan African nations—South Africa and Ghana.
Similarly, innovative SCD treatment techniques have not been introduced in sub-Saharan African nations. There are not enough well-trained physicians, Dr Ebomoyi said. In fact, many SCD patients are treated improperly by traditional African healers.
Furthermore, aside from Senegal and Liberia, sub-Saharan African nations spend less than 10% of their gross domestic product on healthcare. And inadequate funding plays a major role in the high prevalence of SCD in these nations.
For all these reasons, it is important to raise awareness in sub-Saharan Africa about SCD, according to Dr Ebomoyi. He said members of the public should be aware of how they can pass SCD down to their children and inform their partners if they have SCT prior to conceiving a child.
He added that sickle cell education programs should be integrated into the curriculum of elementary, secondary, and tertiary academic institutions.
The abstract of this article, “Ethical, legal, social, and financial implications of neonatal screening for sickle cell anaemia in Sub-Sahara Africa in the age of genomic science,” can be found on the Inderscience Publishers website.
