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Public Health England Reveals The Four New Conditions That All Newborn Babies Will Be Screened For

Every baby born in England from 5 January will be offered screening for four additional conditions that, although rare, can lead to disabilities.

Public Health England has expanded its NHS Newborn Blood Spot Screening Programme to check for four additional rare genetic disorders.

The four additional conditions have been revealed to be homocystinuria, maple syrup urine disease, glutaric aciduria type 1 and isovaleric acidaemia. All are inherited conditions related to babies being able to break down amino acids.

Newborn babies will now be screened for nine conditions [Rex]
Newborn babies will now be screened for nine conditions [Rex]



Public Health England expects around 30 cases to be identified each year and testing for these conditions, leading to early detection and treatment, will prevent those babies affected from dying or being severely disabled for the rest of their lives.

“Expanding the screening has the potential to make a huge difference to the lives of babies born with rare genetic disorders,” says Jane Ellison, public health minister.

“Detecting the disorders early can help prevent babies being severely disabled or even dying, which is absolutely vital for the families affected.”

“The early identification of these conditions can prevent death and significantly improve the quality of life for those living with these conditions,” says Dr Anne Mackie, director of programmes for the NHS Screening Programmes.


The screening uses a simple heel prick blood test, which is conducted five to eight days after each baby is born.

Wales will also start checking for the same four conditions from 12 January but it’s not yet known whether Scotland and Northern Ireland will do the same. 

Current Newborn Screenings
All babies in the UK are currently screened for sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis, congenital hypothyroidism, phenylketonuria and Medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (MCADD).

The screenings, which happen around five days after each baby’s birth, isn’t compulsory but doctors and midwives recommend it as it can help identify babies who have the conditions and treat them as soon as possible.

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Do you think the government is right to expand it’s newborn screening programme? Let us know in the comments.