Westmoreland health official urges sickle cell awareness
Published:Monday | June 12, 2023 | 12:09 AM
WESTERN BUREAU:
PARENTS AND guardians are being urged to be watchful for sickle cell disease. Speaking to the benefits of early detection, Dr Marcia Graham, medical officer of health in Westmoreland, says this guarantees early treatment that will enable children to grow in comfort.
When the majority of the oxygen-carrying red pigment in a person’s red blood cells is type S (sickle), the condition is known as sickle cell disease (SCD). Red blood cells normally have a round shape, but in some circumstances, they take on a strange sickle shape. Low blood count, or anaemia, is caused by these cells, which degrade more quickly than normal ones. Additionally, they may adhere to the lining of blood vessels, other cells, and each other, thus blocking blood vessels and causing pain.
Because every system in the body depends on the flow of blood, any disruption could have an impact on all of them. Sickle cell disease can cause significant infections, acute chest syndrome, which is similar to pneumonia, bone pain, and other unforeseen effects.
According to Graham, parents should carefully examine their children’s’ health and development passport, which includes their immunisation records, to ascertain whether or not their child has SCD.
“I am encouraging people to check their child’s health and development passport, and if the sickle cell section is empty, please visit your nearest health centre so that we can address that,” Graham said, while delivering her report during the monthly meeting of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation.
In Jamaica, where sickle cell disease affects one in every 150 people and the sickle cell trait affects one in every 10 people, SCD is a common hereditary illness. But, according to Graham, if the illness is caught early enough and treated, children can live comfortably.
“We are doing very well in the parish. All our newborn babies are screened for sickle cell disease because if you detect it early, they can be monitored [and treated] to have a good, productive life,” said Graham.
The Westmoreland Public Health Services shared that there are a number of new medications that people with sickle cell disease can now utilise and that people over 60 years old and children with sickle cell illness over the age of four are eligible for the pneumococcal vaccine.
“Let’s continue to be vigilant and work toward making our parish free of diseases that can be prevented by vaccination,” said Graham. “Let’s control sickle cell anaemia and have healthier lives.”