The institute's acting director, Prof. Dr. Janardan Panthi, said that the people's representatives of all 10 municipalities in Dang have been informed that sickle cell anemia testing will be conducted at the institute from now on.
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Rapti Institute of Health Sciences, Ghorahi, is going to test 5,000 people for sickle cell anemia. This is the first time that 5,000 people are going to be tested after the sickle cell testing machine was introduced at the institute, informed Prof. Shyam Lamsal, Registrar of the institute.
He said that the testing campaign has started since Saturday.
The institute is currently providing treatment services to 315 people with sickle cell anemia. Among them, there are patients aged from one year to 65 years. The disease has been found mostly in the Tharu community, while some have also been seen in the Yogi and Dalit communities, said Lamsal. He said that the testing of 5,000 people will provide information about the status of sickle cell anemia in the district and will also help in the formulation of future plans.
Acting Director of the institute, Prof. Dr. Janardan Panthi, has informed the people's representatives of all 10 municipalities of Dang that sickle cell anemia testing will be conducted at the institute from now on. He informed that while earlier it was necessary to go outside the district for sickle cell anemia testing, it will now be conducted regularly at the institute.
'Sickle' means the shape of a sickle and 'cell' means a blood cell. A blood cell with sickle cell cannot be attacked by malaria called falciparum. The cells change shape to resist malaria. Since the shape changes, this sickle cell anemia is only seen in areas with a certain population of malaria, Dr. Panthi said. According to him, it is a completely hereditary disease. Among those seen so far, this disease has spread to the Tharu community from Dang, Kapilvastu to Mahakali. Those with sickle cell first experience anemia. Their blood decreases from their body. The bones of the hands, feet, spine, ribs and stomach ache. There is a lot of pain and jaundice also appears.
Children often get pneumonia in winter. Panthi said that some children die from pneumonia before sickle cell disease is diagnosed. According to him, this disease causes complications such as gallstones, liver swelling, and pleural swelling. It also affects the eyes.
If the disease is treated in time, it can be cured quickly. Since the digestive power of patients with this disease is weak, children should be vaccinated against pneumonia every two years. Panthi explained.
