Trivitron Healthcare in association with NeoGen Labs is now driving the need for Newborn Screening (NBS). This is  a test performed on babies, normally 24 to 72 hours after birth, to identify Inborn Errors of Metabolism, and to treat them if they are identified for before they are adversely impacted.

In this regard it along with NewGen  hosted the 2017 Newborn Screening Symposium on October 30, 2017  organized by National Neonatology Forum (NNF), Karnataka Chapter, supported by Danone India and Rainbow Children’s Hospital.  Around 100 medical professionals participated in the programme. The objective was to  increase awareness of the benefits of NBS in the medical community to improve the lives of babies born in India. Trivitron also introduced an advanced  technology in India to support NBS to improve neonatal care and ensure babies start their life healthy.

IEMs if detected early, and treated immediately, can lead to normal healthy babies who grow into productive adults contributing to society. These disorders move fast and if left untreated, they can result in development delays, mental retardation, physical handicaps and even death. Technology available from Trivitron Healthcare, today, can detect these disorders in a baby as soon as the second day of life and presents a window of opportunity to address them before any harm can be done.

NBS is a public health program in many countries and is as important as routine vaccinations. It should be done routinely on every baby that is born in India. It helps in reducing the Infant Mortality Rates (IMR).

“It is very important to make Newborn Screening mandatory in India. While this is an essential neonatal service that is mandated in the developed world, India lags far behind in it, resulting in serious health disorders affecting our society and economy,” said Dr. G S K Velu, chairman & managing director, Trivitron Healthcare.

According to  Thomas Mookken, Founder & CEO, NeoGen Labs , t NBS saves lives. It is also very critical for a lab to do a screening test right since a baby’s life depends on it.

Dr. Madhavi Marathe, Senior Manager (Nutrition and R&D), Danone India emphasised that “Children with IEMs require special diets without which the prognosis of the disease is very poor and these children often die. These specialised diets are now available in India for 15 IEM conditions through a special initiative ‘Diet4life’ launched by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Danone India is one of the partners in this initiative and has already made these diets available in India”.

Dr. Rajath Athreya, Lead Consultant Neonatologist, Rainbow Children's Hospital, Marathalli, said that  newborn screening will become an important tool to ensure lifelong health of coming generations. Screening and then, diligently, managing cases has to go hand in hand.