Liu Minxia

    mllmx@msn.com

    SHENZHEN will subsidize the city’s newborn screening program starting today, paying 80 percent of the cost of a newborn’s medical check.

    Before, parents needed to pay 109 yuan (US$16.71) for newborn screening, now they only need to pay 21.8 yuan, the city’s health commission said yesterday. Currently, Shenzhen screens newborns for four kinds of diseases, including thyroid disorders and phenylketonuria, a disorder that leaves a person’s body unable to eat high-protein foods.

    “It applies to all infants born in the city,” said Song Xiaohong, a researcher with the commission. “Hospitals are required to inform the parents about the items, methods and costs of the screening and to obtain a written agreement from the parents.”

    The city government has also asked districts and new areas in the city to offer parents a subsidy covering the remaining 20 percent of the cost, the commission said.

    Each year, about 200,000 newborns are routinely screened, accounting for about 98.2 percent of the newborns in the city.

    About 1,000 newborns are found to have the four diseases annually and about 100 have serious diseases that will affect their intellectual development.

    Early detection, diagnosis, and intervention can prevent death or disability, said Song.