Prevalence of Sickle Cell Disease Among School-age Children in Chhattisgarh, India: Predictions, Implications and Interventions

Abstract

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a haemoglobin disorder prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East and India. SCD is a major cause of morbidity and low quality of life in Chhattisgarh and other central Indian states. Currently, there is no estimate available for the number of SCD patients and carriers in Chhattisgarh. The Government of Chhattisgarh conducted a screening project for measuring prevalence of SCD among school-age children in the state in October 2007–December 2017 in six districts of the state. Using these screening data, an estimate of prevalence of SCD was made for school-age children in different geographical regions and social categories in Chhattisgarh. The numbers of SCD patients and carriers among school-age children in Chhattisgarh were estimated as 27,101 and 714,483, respectively. Furthermore, 79.64 per cent patients among school-age children, that is, 21,583 patients were estimated to reside in rural areas. The estimates may be of use in designing policies and developing strategies with better coordination and outreach for care of SCD patients. It is call of the time to develop dedicated infrastructure having medical, training, counselling and research facilities in a hierarchical manner comprising dedicated tertiary to primary care facilities in remote rural areas.