World Thalassemia Day is celebrated on 8th May 2017 to spread awareness in every individual about this disease all over the world. World Health Organization established World Thalassemia Day on 8th May 2017 in order to raise public awareness about Thalassemia, its prevention measures and measure to avoid its transmission.
In Saudi Arabia, around 19 percent is the carrier of Thalassemia gene of the total population according to statistics. In Saudi Arabia, big events are organized every year to celebrate World Thalassemia Day with a variety of preventive programs to reduce the spread of this genetic disease. The common public encouraged for pre-marriage test at the celebration of the event to reduce the genetic problems among the families.
It is most common among people of Italian, Greek, Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African descent. It resulted in 16,800 deaths in 2015, down from 36,000 deaths in 1990. As of 2013, 280 million people were affected by Thalassemia in which 439,000 with severe disease. Thalassemia affects approximately 10,000 children in India every year. A Recent report shows that the children suffering from Thalassemia die before the age of 20.
Thalassemia is a dangerous genetic blood disease which is inherited by parents especially when both are carriers of the defective gene. There are three main types of Thalassemia - Alpha, Beta, and Haemoglobin E (HbE). The severity depends on how many of the genes are missing from each type. This condition is caused due to gene mutation or deletion of key gene fragments.This is due to a variant or the missing gene that determines how the body makes hemoglobin. The result is an improper transport of oxygen to the body and destruction of red blood cells. People suffering from thalassemia have less hemoglobin and fewer red blood cells which translate into anemia conditions. If only one parent is a carrier, then the child may not show symptoms but will be a carrier of the disease.There are various symptoms of Thalassemia depending on the severity of the disease, which is similar to those suffering from anemia. Some of the common symptoms include:
Thalassemia can be treated by different kinds based on the severity of the disease. In most severe cases, it involves blood transfusion, iron chelation or even bone marrow transplant. According to National Health Portal, if Thalassemia's patient undergoes universal vaccination and eat nutritious meals, then they also can live a healthy life. Jagat Prakash Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, tweeted today urging everyone to spread awareness of the disease to make the world free of Thalassemia. For the people suffering from the thalassemia, 8th May has become a special day as it brings a chance for them to get diagnosed earlier. World Thalassemia Day gives them a special chance to live like a normal person as well as prevent this disease to spread in the community, society, state and country.