A total of 192 cases of sickle cell disease besides another 2,004 individuals with sickle cell traits had been identified in Karnataka during the last one year when 56,000 persons from tribal communities residing in seven districts of the State were screened.
The mass screening programme of the tribal communities vulnerable to sickle cell disease began on July 1, 2023, when the National Sickle Cell Elimination Mission (NSCEM) was launched with an aim to eliminate sickle cell disease from India by 2047.
Persons from tribal communities aged between 0 and 40 in Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Kodagu, Udupi, Chikkamagaluru, Dakshina Kannadam and Uttara Kannada were screened under a joint initiative of the Centre and the State government in collaboration with NGOs. A target of screening 3.5 lakh persons over three years had been set when the programme was launched a year ago.
Karnataka is one of the 17 States in the country, where the NSCEM had been launched, covering an estimated tribal population of seven crore people.
According to information made available to The Hindu by the Centre for Training Research and Innovation in Tribal Health (CTRITH), an initiative by Institute of Public Health, Bengaluru, which is part of the collaborative efforts aimed at eradicating sickle cell disease, the individuals affected with the disease in Karnataka had been brought under a medication programme.
The Department of Health had procured Hydroxyurea, a medication used to manage sickle cell disease, and its officials have begun its distribution among the affected individuals in the districts that had been brought under the programme.
Sickle cell disease, a genetic blood disorder and a public health issue that predominantly affects the tribal communities in India, may cause chronic anaemia, pain, fatigue, acute chest syndrome, stroke, and a host of other serious health complications.
CTRITH has shared the information on the progress of NSCEM in Karnataka on the eve of the Sickle Cell Day 2024, which is observed with the theme “Hope through Progress: Advancing Sickle Care globally”. Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dinesh Gundu Rao is scheduled to inaugurate a programme to mark the occasion at Mysuru Zilla Panchayat on Wednesday.
Deputy Director of State Blood Cell and Nodal Officer for the implementation of NSCEM in Karnataka Shakila has been quoted as saying the collaborations with Tribal Welfare Department, NGOs, and organisations working on sickle cell disease had significantly boosted the programme in Karnataka while the district tuberculosis officers, who were the nodal officers at the district level, had been the key pillars for its effective implementation.
Professor at JSS Medical College and Hospital Deepa Bhat, an SCD expert, who is also the co-Principal Investigator at CTRITH, said they had developed a population-based haemoglobinopathies registry for SCD patients. “This dynamic application helps maintain a real-time patient registry, providing details on diagnosis and management of SCD online,” she said.
