Sickle
Cell Disease Centre
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a significant problem among the tribals and the Chetty community of the Gudalur valley. Screening by the metabisulphite test and confirmation by hemoglobin electrophoresis was started at Gudalur Adivasi Hospital in 1998 with equipment donated by Dr.Ronald Nagel of Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York City. The Centre was formalized in 2004 with the help of Mr.Hari Prabhakar of TIHF- (Tribal India health Foundation) and ATMA-(American Tamil Medical Association). Since November 2007 the Tamil Nadu Government, through the Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project, has been funding the Centre for the detection and treatment of SCD.
The Centre provides comprehensive services for SCD to the resident indigenous and non-indigenous populations of the Nilgiris. Through a clinical and community-based approach, the Centre aims to develop a comprehensive model for SCD management, which may be applied to other settings to address the grave issue of SCD prevalence in many parts of rural India. Both pediatric and adult patients are seen.
The clinical services provided by the Centre are as follows:
* Hydroxyurea therapy for crisis-prone patients
* Immunization with 23-conjugate vaccine
* Vitamin supplementation and penicillin prophylaxis
The community services provided by the Centre include:
* Field screening camps
* Centre and field-based education and counseling
|
Illustration
1: Lab staff Pradeepa and Jayanthi, along with Erumad health
animators, conducting a screening camp |
|
Illustration 2: Immunizing
a pediatric sickle cell patient with the
pneumococcal vaccine |
|
Illustration 3:
Processing screening results in the laboratory |
The research interests of the Centre include examining the epidemiology of SCD in the area, tracking patient outcomes, and exploring alternative plant-based therapies to sickle cell management.
The Centre is grateful for the continuing support from the following organizations:
* American Tamil Medical Association (www.atmaus.org)
* Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project, Govt. of Tamil Nadu (www.tnhsp.org)
* Tribal India Health Foundation (www.tihf.org)
* University of Illinois Sickle Cell Disease Centre (www.uicsicklecellcenter.org)
Operation Statistics (As of 12/25/08)
Patient Data
|
Number of Individuals Screened |
6472 |
|
Number of Tribal Patients with Sickle Cell Disease |
99 |
|
Number of Chetty Patients with Sickle Cell Disease |
77 |
|
Number of Sickle Cell Patients Vaccinated with Pneumococcal Vaccine |
51 |
|
Active Patients |
176 |
Comprehensive Screening Data (Centre + Villages)
|
Total Individuals Screened |
% Trait (HbAS) |
% Disease (HbSS) |
|
6472 |
14.71% |
3.01% |
Village Screening Data
|
Total Individuals Screened |
% Trait (HbAS) |
% Disease (HbSS) |
|
2693 |
11.06% |
.52% |
Year Screening Data (November 2007-November 2008)
|
Number of Screening Camps |
Number of Villages Covered |
Total Number of Individuals Screened (Hospital and Field) |
% Trait (HbAS) |
% Disease (HbSS) |
|
49 |
70 |
1894 |
8.8% |
2.2% |
Sickle Cell Inpatients Admissions
|
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
|
10 |
13 |
26 |
37 |
36 |
55 |
Additional reports, protocols, materials, and data sets may be found here: www.tihf.org/scd.htm