Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Do- ping Control Centre (DCC) has made a break-through by being the first in the country to commercially introduce a screening test to detect 25 metabolic disorders in a newborn baby.
USM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dzulkifli Abdul Razak said yesterday the screening, known as Newborn Screening (NBS), was a test that helped doctors diagnose some of the metabolic disorders a newborn baby might have.
“This acts as a precautionary and pre-ventive step. The test can be performed on a baby as early as the first 48 hours to 72 hours after birth.
“This early detection followed by prompt treatment, can help avert mental retar- dation, severe disability and even death,” he said at a press conference to announce the introduction of the screening test.
Prof Dzulkifli added that DCC was ready to introduce the service with immediate effect to the public.
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Early detection:Prof Aishah posing next to a poster on the NBS test developed by the centre. |
She said the NBS and related services were currently available at the Institute of Medical Research (IMR), which was conducting a two-year pilot programme at 10 government hospitals. The project is expected to end this August.
Prof Aishah said the DCC had invested a total of RM4.5mil on three highly sophistica-ted tandem mass spectrometers to carry out the analysis.
“The DCC has adequate instrumentation and personnel to handle between 300 and 400 samples per day and therefore, is in the position to accept samples nationwide,” she added.
Prof Aishah said the test required a few drops of blood, obtained from a gentle prick on the baby’s heel, which were then dropped onto a filter paper and sent to the laboratory for testing.
“The results will then be despatched back to the doctor attending to the patients three days later,” she said.
DCC Metabolic Services head Dr Adi Tan Abdullah said babies must be referred by a medical doctor for the NBS and each basic test would cost RM85.
DCC has begun analysis on samples from its teaching hospital – Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) – in Kubang Krian, Kelantan, he said.
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