Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

Healthy population is the main and the most important pillar of a strong and prospering country. Azerbaijan, a country of nine million people in the South Caucasus, is now developing in many aspects, and struggles to have healthy citizens.

Genetic diseases are reported in different regions of Azerbaijan with varying frequency. They are caused by mutations, which occur in the DNA molecule, and depend on human migration, kinship marriages and other factors.

The country is ranked fourth in the world in terms of spread of thalassemia. Research has shown that 8 percent of Azerbaijanis are carriers of the thalassemia gene.

A state program to fight against this disease in 2015-2020 was adopted by President Ilham Aliyev on February 10.

The Health Ministry will prepare the system controlling thalassemia in 2015-2016 with modern information technology.

Thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder that causes the body to make fewer healthy red blood cells and less hemoglobin than normal.

Although, thalassaemia is passed from parents to children, parents can be just thalassemia gene carriers and may have no substantial variations in their health. Thus, medical checkup of both parents on this gene should be done before impregnation.

Children with thalassemia need blood transfusions 1-2 times in a month. Without the appropriate treatment, such children can live no longer than 10 years.

A heterozygous carrier of the beta-thalassemia gene is most common among apparently healthy residents of Shaki, Oghuz, Ismayilli, Goychay, Shamakhi, Agdash, Ujar, Saatly, Sabirabad and Salyan.

To control this disease, the country is helping the population through a number of projects. One of them is newborn screening. Six genetic diseases have been included in the screening. Three of the diseases affect all populations of the world with approximately the same frequency, and the three others unfortunately are typical among the population of Azerbaijan.

Currently, there are more than 6,000 human genetic diseases with few of them treatable. The early detection and treatment can prevent the occurrence of diseases in the future.

According to the program, this year, the country will prepare the single electronic program for thalassemia carriers among those who want to marry.

However, the presence of thalassemia gene in new couples does not mean that they should abandon their decision or should avoid having children. They get expert advices and additional tests to keep their children healthy.

The state began dealing with thalassemia in December 2005. As part of the program, the state annually allocates public funds for free treatment and medicines of patients with this illness.

Since its establishment in 2007, the Thalassemia Center in Baku has offered all conditions both scientific and practical for studying thalassemia. Moreover, centers of hemophilia and thalassemia have been already established in Shirvan and Ganja regions. Similar centers are expected to be established in Guba, Lankaran and Mingachevir regions.

The medical help of the state and awareness of the population on the thalassemia disease will help the country leave behind this terrible ranking.

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Nigar Orujova is AzerNews’s staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @o_nigar

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