Okaz/Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Jeddah has the largest number of genetic diseases in the world with 700 out of 10,000 children contracting some form of genetic disorder against the world average of one out of 10,000, said Dr. Najla Ghafari, pediatrics and genetic diseases consultant at the city's Health Affairs. She was contradicting statistics given by Dr. Rowda Sunbul, genetic diseases consultant at Qatif Central Hospital, who said the Eastern Province region had the largest number of genetic diseases in the Kingdom with one out of 700 children suffering from some kind of disorder. "Last year the Maternity and Children's Hospital in Musadiya, Jeddah, has recorded 106 children having genetic diseases out of 6,036 children born in the hospital," Ghafari told Okaz/Saudi Gazette. The hospital received 300 such cases from outside, she added. She emphasized the need for a government decision to prevent marriage of couples suffering from genetic diseases. "This is one of the reasons that increase genetic diseases." Ghafari called for a nationwide awareness campaign to educate the public on genetic diseases and how to get rid of them. "Most such diseases are caused by marriage between close relatives because the gene in such cases would be recessive," she said. "We should also inform school children about the danger posed by genetic diseases and develop a highly qualified team of experts to treat such diseases," she said. She said many Islamic countries were successful in preventing genetic diseases by banning marriage between close relatives. The Health Ministry is in the process of publishing a directory of genetic diseases across the Kingdom, covering all government and private hospitals, she said. "We should diagnose the possibility of such diseases during pregnancy and prevent birth of such children who might cause problems for the family," she said. Management of such diseases is quite expensive, she added. There is a national program for early diagnosis of genetic diseases, said Ghafari. Some genetic disorders are inherited from the parents, while others are caused by acquired changes or mutations in a preexisting gene or group of genes. Mutations can occur either randomly or due to some environmental exposure.
