Search

Since 1975 the Rome Microcythaemia Centre has carried out every year, under the auspices of the health authorities of the Latium region, a screening of thalassaemics among intermediate schoolchildren of Latium. From these campaigns, knowledge about thalassaemias among the young adult population has grown which, in its turn, has resulted in screening of these young adults. Through screening in schools between 1975 and 1982, of 289 763 students examined, 6838 thalassaemics were identified, 6045 of whom were beta- or delta beta-thalassaemics. The total number of young thalassaemics who are identified at present in the Centre through screenings of schoolchildren and young adults is about 3300 per year. Furthermore, from January 1980 to April 1983, 110 prospective couples of child-bearing age at risk (94 of whom originated from Latium) were identified at the Centre, and five homozygous fetuses (three of which originated from Latium) were diagnosed. These data derive from an area in which the frequency of thalassaemia is only 2.4%, and they show that the programme in Latium for the prevention of Mediterranean anaemia has been successful. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

From 1975 to 1979 the Rome Microcythaemia Centre carried out four health education campaigns and thalassaemia screenings among students of the intermediate schools throughout Latium, under the auspices and with the financial support of the Health Authorities of the Latium region. This project is aimed at avoiding reproduction by pairs of thalassaemia carriers and the birth of homozygous children. During the four campaigns 138 501 students were examined, that is, 70 to 76% of those enrolled. Of these 3343 were found to be thalassaemic. Thus the overall prevalence of thalassaemia in Latium is 2.41%, with minor fluctuations from one province to another and, above all, a slight, though definite, trend towards higher values in the southern part of Latium bordering on Campania. The screening was welcomed by the population and the thalassaemic families, there were no detectable negative side-effects, and it resulted in an increased awareness of the problem of the thalassaemias. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]