Britain plans to offer DNA testing for all newborns to screen
them for serious hereditary diseases and identify health risks in
adulthood, reports said on Wednesday.
“This is brilliant news, just imagine how many lives can be
saved when we know the genetic risks we face,’’ Health Secretary
Matt Hancock tweeted.
The government-owned Genomics England will launch a trial of the
testing programme in 2020 with the National Health Service (NHS),
The Times reported.
The testing could be made widely available within three years if
the trial proves successful, the newspaper said.
It quoted Hancock as saying at a Genomics England research
conference earlier this week that the DNA testing technology put
Britain “on the cusp of a healthcare revolution’’.
“Predictive, preventative, personalised healthcare. That is the
future for the NHS,’’ he was quoted as saying.
Chris Wigley, Genomics England chief executive, said he hoped an
initial 20,000 parents would agree to DNA testing of their
babies.
“The benefits of this test can play out over the course of
someone’s life,’’ the newspaper quoted Wigley as saying.
“Someone may have had their genome sequenced as a newborn and 25
years later they develop another health problem.
“We can use the same genomic data to assess, are they likely to
have an adverse effect to this drug versus that drug,’’ he
added.
The newspaper said some 3,000 of the 660,000 children born each
year in England and Wales are believed to have a treatable,
early-onset disease. (NAN)
Subscribe ToNairalaw News!
Read more why-britain-will-begin-dna-testing-for-all-newborns/