Incidence of haemoglobinopathies detected through neonatal screening in the United Arab Emirates

In January 2002, a pilot programme of neonatal screening for sickle cell disease was launched in the United Arab Emirates [UAE] in 3 districts of Abu Dhabi emirate. This paper reports the incidence of sickle cell diseases, other haemoglobinopathies and haemoglobinopathy carriers over a 12-month period using high performance liquid chromatography as a primary screening method. The overall incidence of sickle cell disease among 22 200 screened neonates was 0.04% [0.07% for UAE citizens and 0.02% for non-UAE citizens]. The incidence of sickle cell trait was 1.1% overall [1.5% for UAE citizens and 0.8% for non-UAE citizens]. Universal neonatal screening for sickle cell haemoglobin at the national level should be considered