Over 3.7 crore people suffering from haemoglobin disorder

KOLKATA: Other than the well known heart disease and cancer afflictions in the country, a lesser-known disease - inherited haemoglobin disorder - has struck people with a vengeance.
    
An estimated 3.798 crore people in the country are suffering from the disorder, 7,500 infants are born each year with beta thalassaemia and at least 5,000 infants are born with sickle cell disease.
    
In South 24-Parganas district of West Bengal, a study has revealed that 13.7 per cent of the population are suffering from the disorder, according to Professor I C Verma, chairman of the department of genetic medicine, Gangaram Hospital, New Delhi.
    
Verma said that the burden of this disorder on the family was much more than other disorders like pneumonia and diarrhoea as 'they persist throughout life'.
    
Urging the government to pay serious attention to the disease, its diagnosis and treatment, Verma told a national conference on 'community genetics approaches in prevention of beta thalassaemia' here yesterday that many people cannot afford treatment at private institutions.
    
Verma said that the scientists of the Anthropological Survey of India (ASI) had launched a massive programme to determine the frequency of haemoglobinopathies in different parts of the country.