SILVER SPRING, MD--(Marketwire - May 25, 2010) - On May 21, 2010, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius adopted the national Recommended Uniform Screening Panel as recommended by the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children (SACHDNC). The recommended panel includes 30 genetic disorders including the addition of SCID (Severe Combined Immunodeficiency). APHL applauds Secretary Sebelius for officially sanctioning the advisory committee's recommendations, and commends the SACHDNC for their work.
Chartered in February 2003, the SACHDNC advises the Secretary about aspects of newborn screening and technical information for the development of policies and priorities. This is the first time the Secretary has implemented one of the committee's recommendations.
"The Secretary's adoption of the committee's recommendations allows state officials to rely on science and expertise to craft policy on newborn screening," said Michael Skeels, PhD, MPH, director of the Oregon State Public Health Laboratory, APHL member and voting member of the SACHDNC. "It is extremely helpful for states to have recommendations from a consensus body. This is a great example of why the advisory committee exists."
SCID is the first nominated condition to be to be added to the core panel of 29 disorders since its inception in 2005. While the SACHDNC declined to add the condition 18 months ago, subsequent advances in technology have led to successful detection and treatment of the disorder.
Currently every state and the District of Columbia screen for at least 26 of the 30 disorders on the uniform panel. Public health laboratories, which assumed responsibility for newborn screening in the mid-1960s, conduct approximately 97% of all newborn screening tests in the US.
The Association of Public Health Laboratories is a national non-profit located in Silver Spring, MD, that is dedicated to working with members to strengthen governmental laboratories with a public health mandate. By promoting effective programs and public policy, APHL strives to provide public health laboratories with the resources and infrastructure needed to protect the health of US residents and to prevent and control disease globally.
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240.485.2793