TY - JOUR T1 - Neonatal haemoglobinopathy screening in Burkina Faso JF - Journal of Clinical Pathology JO - J Clin Pathol SP - 39 LP - 41 DO - 10.1136/jcp.2008.058966 VL - 62 IS - 1 AU - E Kafando AU - E Nacoulma AU - Y Ouattara AU - J Ayéroué AU - F Cotton AU - M Sawadogo AU - B Gulbis Y1 - 2009/01/01 UR - http://jcp.bmj.com/content/62/1/39.abstract N2 - Aims: To report our experience of neonatal screening for sickle cell disease in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) and to discuss the feasibility of neonatal screening in this country.Methods: Between the years 2000 and 2004, there were about 2341 births in five maternity services in Ouagadougou. These babies were screened for sickle cell disease in a universal screening pilot programme. In 2006, 53 babies born to selected couples were screened. The specimens were collected either by cord blood sampling or from a dried blood spot on filter paper. The screening was performed using an isoelectric focusing technique.Results: In the first stage (2000–4), the incidence of sickle cell disease was 1:57. In the second stage, six of 53 babies of selected couples were found to have major haemoglobinopathies: one was homozygous for haemoglobin S and five were compound heterozygotes for haemoglobins S and C.Conclusions: The results suggest that a national screening programme should be implemented in Burkina Faso with effective newborn and subsequent follow-up, but a methodology needs to be developed. ER -