The Regional Minister of Health, Manuela García, received the award yesterday in Madrid.
The Balearic Islands Health Service’s neonatal screening programme has received the 2024 +Visibles Award from the Asociación Enfermedades Raras Más Visibles (More Visible Rare Diseases Association).
The Minister of Health, Manuela García, received the award yesterday at a ceremony at Kinepolis, in Madrid’s Ciudad de la Imagen, accompanied by the Director General of Public Health, Elena Esteban.
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The Balearic Islands neonatal screening, awarded by the Association for More Visible Rare Diseases
The Balearic Government yesterday approved a decree that expands the neonatal screening portfolio in the Balearic Islands to include 33 new endocrine-metabolic diseases, increasing from 7 to 40 the number of endocrine-metabolic diseases that will be monitored on the islands, as well as implementing their detection.
The Balearic Islands are thus at the head of the autonomous communities with the highest number of rare diseases screened among newborns. The Balearic Islands’ neonatal screening portfolio is the broadest in the entire National Health System, which only includes seven diseases in the basic portfolio.
Furthermore, it should be noted that the screening programme in the Balearic Islands has second-level markers that reduce the rate of false positives, improving the quality and care of newborns and their families.
Neonatal screening is very important, as it helps in the early detection of diseases, their early diagnosis and treatment before the derived symptoms are clinically detectable, as well as follow-up, with the aim of preventing mortality and possible disabilities associated with these diseases.
The public health programme of neonatal screening, which is carried out on all newborns in the Balearic Islands in both public and private hospitals, analysed 8,599 newborns last year. A total of 29 children were detected with some condition and 72 were found to be carriers of some disease, and specific treatment could be started early.