KUWAIT: Metabolic diseases are considered rare hereditary disorders that form a health burden that requires full attention, a Kuwaiti health ministry official said yesterday. Metabolic diseases are one of the reasons behind growth deficiencies in babies that cause physical and brain disabilities that can sometimes be fatal, Head of Sabah Hospital's pediatric department Dr Iman Al-Enezi said.

According to the physician, 55,210 newborns were examined in 2018 in Kuwait (both citizens and expats) and that 931 of them had metabolic diseases. Enezi was speaking on the sidelines of a workshop on metabolic diseases organized by Sabah Hospital in collaboration with Kuwait Pediatric League and Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS). She stressed the need to protect children from diseases by medical examination of newborns to be able to diagnose the disease and start treatment early before serious complications develop.
Further, Enezi said Kuwait, represented by the Ministry of Health (MoH), adopted an early detection program for babies in 2014 through which all newborns are examined as early as 2-7 days after birth. Enezi said the workshop will be held over two days with the participation of metabolic consultants Dr Dina Ramadan, Dr Nawal Maqseed and Dr Rasha Al-Saffi, and hereditary disease and nutrition specialists Dr Sohad Al-Mo'eqel from Saudi Arabia and Dr Evona from Poland.

By Meshaal Al-Enezi