11.4pc found thalassemia carrier in Bangladesh: Survey

In Bangladesh, 11.4 percent people aged between
14 and 35 married and unmarried are thalassemia carrier, according to a
survey of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) released here today.

“Among the thalassemia carriers, 11.9 percent are male while 11.2 are
female,”Ligen Shah Nayeem, focal point official of BBS, told the report
dissemination programme of the National Thalassemia-2024 in the auditorium of
BBS.

State Minister for Planning Md Shahiduzzaman Sarker, Secretary of Statistics
and Informatics Division Dr Shahnaz Arefin, Additional Secretary of Health
Service Division Muhammad Wahiduzzaman, among others, addressed the function
with BBS Director General Mohammad Mizanur Rahman in the chair.

President of Bangladesh Thalassamia Samity Eng MA Matin, Scientist of Non-
Communicable Disease of ICDDR’B Dr Aliya Naheed, hematologists and officials
of relevant organisation joined the open discussion on the survey report on
thalassamia at the programme.

Nayeem said, “Under the national thalassemia survey, 8,680 people were
selected for detecting presence of thalassamia. Of them, blood samples were
collected from 7,979 people.”

After screening of the blood sample, 11.4 people were found thalassamia
carrier, he said 11.6 percent thalassamia carriers have been detected in
rural areas while 11 percent thalassamia carrier people are found in urban
setting.

According to the health experts, thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder
that affects your body’s ability to produce hemoglobin and healthy red blood
cells.

Types include alpha and beta thalassemia, they said, adding thalassemia may
cause you to experience anemia-like symptoms that range from mild to severe.
Treatment can consist of blood transfusions and iron chelation therapy.

The state minister said, “The initiative of thalassemia survey is time-
befitting step of BBS. Although the survey is carried out in a limited scale,
it will keep huge impact on health, planning and other sectors.”

“The government has attached priority to five diseases,” he said, adding that
thalassemia is one of the five diseases.

Shahiduzzaman urged the relevant organisations and the health ministry to
launch massive awareness campaign on thalassemia among the people, which
eventually will make the country free from the disease.

He also said authorities of all public hospitals, health complexes and
community clinics must ensure screening of blood to know the presence of
thalassameia.

Other health experts laid emphasis on screening of blood before getting
marriage to make Bangladesh thalassameia-free country. Explaining nature of
thalassemia, they said babies are born with thalessamia diseases, if parents
are carrier of it. (BSS)