Government to build genetic disease research centre

The government of the Republic of Congo (ROC) will open a 750-million-franc CFA (US $1.4 million) medical research centre for the hereditary disorder sickle-cell anaemia, Health Minister Alphonse Gando announced on Friday. "We will quickly set up a team of paediatricians and haematologists, who will devise a healthcare system, first in Brazzaville [the capital], and then progressively to the rest of the country," he said. The research and treatment centre would operate out of the University of Brazzaville Teaching Hospital, the largest in the country. So far, the government has set aside enough money to run the centre for one year. Gando's announcement came at the close of a four-day conference in Brazzaville on sickle-cell anaemia, aimed at bringing about greater public awareness of the disease. The wives of the heads of state of Chad, Senegal, Mali and the Central African Republic, who advocate the creation of similar research centres in their respective countries, also attended the meeting. Sickle-cell anaemia is a hereditary disease caused by mutant haemoglobin that primarily affects black populations. The malady is considered the most common genetic illness in the world. A dermatologist at the teaching hospital, Dr Daniel Loumouamou, said sickle-cell anaemia was the sixth leading cause of death in the ROC. The top five killers are malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, typhoid fever and yellow fever. Children with the disorder typically display symptoms of fever and abdominal pain and have bloated bellies and red eyes. Physical exertion, cold, dehydration or altitude can worsen symptoms. The UN World Health Organization describes sickle-cell anaemia as a blood related disorder that affects the haemoglobin molecule, and causes the entire blood cell to change shape under stressed conditions. "In sickle-cell anaemia, the haemoglobin molecule is defective. After haemoglobin molecules give up their oxygen, some may cluster together and form long, rod-like structures which become stiff and assume sickle shape," the agency says on its website: http://www.who.int It says sickle cell anaemia affects millions throughout the world and is particularly common among people whose ancestors come from sub-Sahara Africa, South America, Cuba, Central America, Saudi Arabia, India, and Mediterranean countries such as Turkey, Greece and Italy. In the US, it affects around 72,000 people, most of whose ancestors are African. Currently, there is no cure for sickle cell anaemia but medical treatment for those affected include the use of oral antibiotics, pain relief and blood transfusions, to prevent some of the complications associated with sickle cell anaemia by increasing the number of normal red blood cells and thus preventing the complications of sickling.