Determination of birth prevalence of sickle cell disease using point of care test HemotypeSC™ at Rundu Hospital, Namibia

• Published in: BMC pediatrics Vol. 24; no. 1; p. 323
• Main Authors: Mano, Runyararo Mashingaidze, Kuona, Patience, Misihairabgwi, Jane Masiiwa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 10-05-2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Anemia, Sickle Cell - diagnosis; Anemia, Sickle Cell - epidemiology; Anemia, Sickle Cell - genetics; Cellulose acetate; Clothing industry; Cross-Sectional Studies; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Diagnosis; Diseases; DNA; Epidemiology; Female; Hemoglobin; Hemotype SC; Humans; Industrialized nations; Infant, Newborn; Infants (Newborn); Malaria; Malaria prone region; Male; Medical examination; Medical screening; Medical tests; Methods; Mortality; Namibia; Namibia - epidemiology; Neonatal Screening - methods; Newborn screening; Pediatric research; Pediatrics; Point-of-Care Testing; Prevalence; Prevalence studies (Epidemiology); Public health; Sickle cell anemia; Sickle cell disease; Statistics; Sub-Saharan Africa; Namibia; Sub-Saharan Africa; Middle East; Indian subcontinent; Africa; India; Hemotype SC; Newborn screening; Sickle cell disease; Malaria prone region
• DOI: 10.1186/s12887-024-04805-z
• EISSN: 1471-2431

Sickle cell disease (SCD), a noncommunicable disease, has the greatest burden in sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of children (50-90%) with SCD die before their 5th birthday, with approximately 150,000-300,000 annual SCD child deaths in Africa. In developed countries, newborn screening (NBS) has been shown to improve the survival of children with sickle cell disease, with under5 childhood mortality reduced tenfold due to interventions performed before the development of complications. Point -of-care tests have been developed for resource limited settings to expand NBS. The aim of this study was to determine the birth prevalence of sickle cell disease in Namibia using the HemoTypeSC™ point-of-care test.
A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out at Rundu Intermediate Hospital in the Kavango East Region. Two hundred and two (202) well newborns within 72 h of birth were recruited for the study from 22 February to the 23th March 2023. Descriptive statistics were used to compute the haemoglobin types of the study participants.
The majority of the participants (n = 105, 52%) were females, and (n = 97,48%) were males. The median age of the participants was 23 h (Q1, Q3; 11; 33),) with an age range of 2-98 h. Sickle cell trait was present in 9.4% of the screened newborns, no homozygous disease was detected, and 90.6% had Hb AA.
This study is the first to measure HbS gene carriage at birth using HemotypeSC point-of-care testing in Namibia. There was a moderate prevalence of sickle cell traits but no SCD. This baseline study may provide the foundation for larger epidemiological surveys to map HbS gene carriage in Namibia to provide evidence for policy makers to fashion appropriate SCD newborn screening services.