- 40 million Nigerians are carriers of the sickle cell gene (Hb As)
- Over 150,000 babies born each year as SS
- Patients beg for support
With the startling revelation that Nigeria has the highest population of people living with sickle cell anaemia in the world, some medical experts, have called for a holistic management of the disease in order to enable those affected live a healthy and productive life.
The experts identified early diagnosis, proper treatment, genetic counseling and good nutrition such as regular consumption of fruits and vegetables as some potential ways of tackling the disorder.
They noted that early detection in particular, especially before and after the baby is born, goes a long way in preventing and reducing some of the complications and impairment associated with the disease.
Stressing the need for increased awareness, the experts maintained that holistic management of the disease improves the lives of those affected.
This was even as some of those living with the disorder narrated their ordeal to The Point, urging the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to provide them with free drugs and treatment facilities.
Statistics from the Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria (SCFN), show that over 40 million Nigerians are healthy carriers of the sickle cell gene (Hb As) while over 150,000 babies are born each year with sickle cell anaemia (Hb SS).
The Sickle cell disease (SCD), experts say is a genetic disorder due to the presence of an abnormal form of haemoglobin in the red blood cells, called haemoglobin S (Hb S) instead of haemoglobin A (Hb A).
Speaking in an interview with The Point , Professor of Heamatology and Oncology at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Prof. Adebola Akinsulie, explained that if children are taken care of right from birth and throughout their life, they tend to be fairly stable.
His words: “Holistic management of sickle cell improves the lives of those affected and you need to take care of these children right from birth through early detection. Even before birth, you want to know what kind of genotype they have.
“If parents know that they have the tendency to give birth to a child with sickle cell anaemia, they have to begin the diagnosis early. All they need do is to go to the hospital whenever the woman is pregnant and find out the haemoglobin genotype of their unborn child.”
experts HAVE identified early diagnosis, proper treatment, genetic counseling and good nutrition such as regular consumption of fruits and vegetables as some potential ways of tackling the disorder
Akinsulie, who is also Head of Paediatrics at the institution, identified stroke as a major problem and one of the most devastating complications of sickle cell disease.
Chairman of SCFN and consultant hematologist, Prof. Olu Akinyanju, told The Point that leg ulceration, acute chest syndrome (ACS) and stroke were endemic in people with SCD.
He noted that people with SCD need to be careful and always go for regular checks so as to prevent the occurrence of Leg Ulceration.
“Leg ulceration occurs usually between the ages of 12 and 45 years; it is predominant in males and does not heal quickly.
“However, research is ongoing on a better management for it, especially on the use of umbilical cord platelet cells to make SCD related ulcers heal faster,’’ he said.
Akinyanju affirmed that leg ulcer required a daily visit to hospital for dressing and advised people with SCD not to allow their leg ulcers to degenerate before visiting the hospital for treatment and dressing.
He noted that managing leg ulcers at home could result in infection as some of the facilities used at home are not always sterilized, unlike in the hospital where such facilities have been sterilised.
Some of those living with SCD are appealing for support from the federal government as they narrated their ordeal to The Point.
Fasilat Sikiru, a 15-year-old JSS 2 student of Adesola Baptist Junior High School, Surulere, Lagos, said living with SCD makes life unattractive.
“My condition is so painful that when I have crisis, I will never know where I am until it is over. And it will only stop when I visit the hospital. As a result I am always in and out of hospital. You can imagine how terrible the sickness is.
“Whenever the crisis comes, it causes me general body pain -especially around my joints; and immediately it happens, my parents will rush me to the hospital. Sometimes, this crisis prevents me from going to school owing to hospital admissions,” she
said.
Thirty-year-old Shirley Chinyere lamented that stigmatisation has really been a big problem of living with sickle cell
anaemia.
“In terms of marriage, when I tell my suitors that I am a sickler (because I have always told them the truth about my health status), they take to their heels. But, I believe by the grace of God, someday, the right suitor will come and I will get married,” she said.