CYSTIC FIBROSIS Ohio requires screenings for newborns

About 30,000 Americans have cystic fibrosis.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Newborn babies born in Ohio will be tested for cystic fibrosis, which is always fatal, and a potentially deadly genetic disorder that prevents fat from being turned into energy.
The new screenings will be required beginning today under new Ohio Department of Health requirements. In all, the state requires newborns be tested for 32 disorders.
People with cystic fibrosis have abnormally thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and complicates digestion of food. Lungs often get infected and the average life expectancy of those who have it is about 30, said Dr. Michael Konstan, medical director of the Leroy W. Matthews Cystic Fibrosis Center at Rainbow Babies & amp; Children's Hospital in Cleveland.
The new test is "a very nice opportunity to identify babies who have cystic fibrosis much earlier in life, and what that will do is it will allow us to treat them before they become symptomatic," he said.
About 30,000 Americans have cystic fibrosis, Konstan said.
More testing
Babies with a positive screening should see a specialist for more testing when they are 2 to 3 weeks old. Konstan stresses that most of those infants -- 9 out of 10 -- will not have the disease but be identified as genetic carriers, meaning they could pass it on to their children.
Hospitals also will be required to screen for primary carnitine deficiency, which affects about 1 in 100,000 babies nationwide. Proteins called carnitine transporters do not work, causing the body to prevent the natural burning of fat for energy. People with the disease can have brain damage, an enlarged heart that does not pump well and liver problems. It can be deadly.
"Finding these disorders early can help children get a healthy start in life," said Nick Baird, director of the state health department.
Babies will need to undergo only one prick to be tested for all 32 diseases. A tiny amount of blood is taken from the infants' heel one or two days after birth.
Parents will pay $55 for the test, $10 more than the cost of the current screenings.