NAN-HG-9
Sickle Cell
By Zubairu Idris
Katsina, Feb. 2, 2017 (NAN) No fewer than 1,250 secondary school girls in Katsina State would benefit from the free genotype and malaria screening programme in the state.
Alhaji Mustapha Inuwa, Secretary to the state government, made this known on Thursday at the Government Girls Secondary School, Katsina, Day wing.
The programme was organised by the Future Assured, an NGO of Mrs Aisha Buhari, wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, in collaboration with Katsina State Government.
Inuwa described Sickle Cell as an inherited blood disorder common in Africa, particularly in Nigeria, where one out of every four persons carries “SS’’ gene.
He said that Sickle Cell was characterised by high morbidity and mortality where 50 per cent of patients died within the first 10 years of their life.
Inuwa said that the state government had established Sickle Cell Clinics in Katsina, Funtua, Malumfashi, Dutsin-ma, Daura and Ingawa Local Government Areas to check the disorder.
In her remarks, the state Commissioner for Health, Hajiya Mariyatu Bala Usman, said that the disorder could only be prevented by marrying the right partner.
“Before you marry, know your status.
“If you have AS, it means you are a carrier, so, do not marry someone with AS.
“This is because there is a tendency for you to produce children with AS, AA or SS that carries the Sickle Cell anemia,’’ Usman said.
According to her, screening will aim at enlightening the students and parents on the importance of genotype testing before marriage.
She said that this was why the state government targeted secondary school students as part of the measures to eliminate the disorder in view of its hereditary nature.
The commissioner also stressed the importance of personal and environmental hygiene to prevent malaria fever. (NAN)
ZI/VI/GOK
Edited by Vivian Ihechu/Olagoke Olatoye
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