Nation IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : Sickle Cell Testing Urged for All Babies
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Newborns should be tested for sickle cell anemia regardless of race, and children with the disease should take preventive doses of penicillin until they are five, the U.S. Public Health Service advised doctors. Though both recommendations are already widely followed, universal acceptance will further reduce complications from the inherited blood disease, a new report said. Sickle cell anemia occurs in 1 of 375 American blacks, and in a much lower frequency in other racial groups. The disease increases a child’s risk of certain bacterial infections 500-fold and causes periodic “crises” of severe bone and chest pain.
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