title: Thalassaemia screening among students in a secondary school in Ampang, Malaysia.
abstract: Thalassaemia is a common disorder in Malaysia. It is estimated that 4.5% of the population are carriers for beta- or alpha- thalassaemias. We set out to screen Form 4 students aged between 15 and 16 years old in a national school, for thalassaemia in March 2008. Written consent was obtained from 310 students. The carrier rate for the common thalassaemia syndromes was 6.8% (2.9% for beta-thalassaemia, 2.6% for HbE and 1.3% for two-gene deletion for alpha-thalassaemia). Carriers for beta-thalassaemia and two-gene deletion for alpha-thalassaemia were more common in the Chinese (4.3% and 1.4% respectively) while heterozygous HbE was more common in the Malays (3.8%). The laboratory cost of screening one student was RM 45 and the total number of man-hours spent in this screening activity was 600. This screening exercise showed that thalassaemia carriers are common among the Chinese and Malays and it is feasible to carry out a screening programme for secondary school students.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Ampang, Department of Hematology, Clinical Hematology Laboratory, Jalan Mewah Utara, Pandan Mewah, Ampang, Selangor 68000, Malaysia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jameela
authors.forename: S O Sharifah
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Sabirah
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Babam
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Phan
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Visalachy
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Salwana
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zuraidah
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Subramanian
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rahimah
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002353:Carrier State; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012574:Schools; D013789:Thalassemia / Q000453:epidemiology*