Newborn Screening in Overseas

According to the United States Center for Disease Control, approximately 3,000 babies with severe disorders are identified in the United States each year using newborn screening programs at current testing rates.

The success of blood spot newborn screening in the USA led to early screening efforts in parts of the Asia Pacific Region in the mid-1960s. Beginning in the 1960s, blood spot screening began in New Zealand and Australia, followed by Japan and a cord blood screening programme for G6PD deficiency in Singapore. In the 1980s, established programmes added congenital hypothyroidism and new programmes developed in Taiwan, Hong Kong, China (Shanghai), India and Malaysia. Programmes developing in the 1990s built on the experience of others developing more rapidly in Korea, Thailand and the Philippines. In the 2000s, with limited funding support from the International Atomic Energy Agency, there has been screening programme development around detection of congenital hypothyroidism in Indonesia, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Pakistan. Palau has recently contracted with the Philippine newborn screening programme. There is little information available on newborn screening activities in Nepal, Cambodia, Laos and the other Pacific Island nations, with no organized screening efforts apparent. Since approximately half of the births in the world occur in the Asia Pacific Region, it is important to continue the ongoing implementation and expansion efforts so that these children can attain the same health status as children in more developed parts of the world and their full potential can be realized. (Padilla C. et.al, 2007)

In the Asia Pacific region, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand have newborn screening coverage. Newborn Screening was introduced in the Philippines in 1996 through the efforts of Newborn Screening Study Group headed by Dr. Carmencita Padilla and Dr. Carmelita Domingo, both professors of the Department of Pediatrics, UP College of Medicine and Philippine General Hospital. Dr. Padilla is also the Director of Institute of Human Genetics (IHG). The IHG is in charge of the nationwide operations of newborn screening. The only accredited Newborn Screening Laboratory lodged in the country is at IHG. From an initial 24 hospitals in 1996, the IHG is currently serving more than 500 lying-ins, hospitals, and communities. (Lewis, 2008)