WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Association of
Public Health Laboratories (APHL) commends Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and
Orrin Hatch (R-UT) for their introduction of legislation to provide
increased parent and health care provider education, improve follow-up care
and enable states to improve their newborn screening programs. The Newborn
Screening Saves Lives Act of 2007 represents a significant commitment to
improving the health of children by assuring that testing will continue to
occur with the greatest level of accuracy and that those children with life
threatening and debilitating disorders will receive prompt and effective
treatment.
    "The nation's public health laboratories have been at the vanguard of
newborn screening since its inception in 1965," said Katherine Kelley,
DrPH, director of Connecticut's public health laboratory. "I'm thrilled
that Senator Dodd has again introduced legislation that will allow public
health laboratories to continue to provide the highly-accurate testing
results -- results that enable health care providers to immediately begin
treatments that save and improve the lives of children -- as technological
advances broaden the number of disorders that can be detected. I urge all
members of the Senate to cosponsor Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act of
2007."
    Public health laboratories conduct newborn screening tests on 97
percent of the babies born in the US -- tests that have long been
recognized as an essential and effective preventive public health service
that identifies thousands of babies each year who are born with a genetic
or metabolic disorder. Laboratories and parents must be confident that
tests results are accurate and that disorders are not missed.
    "This important piece of legislation is needed to ensure that all
babies born in the US have an equal chance for a healthy start to life,"
said William Becker, DO, MPH, chair of the APHL Newborn Screening and
Genetics in Public Health Committee. "It is especially significant that the
new bill directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a
national contingency plan for newborn screening so we can build upon the
experiences learned after Hurricane Katrina and that it continues to
provide critical monies for assuring the quality of all newborn screening
laboratory testing."
    The funding provided in the bill for the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) will enable CDC to utilize state-of-the-art science to
address pressing newborn screening issues that are of public health concern
and:
    -- Develop new screening methods for specific disorders, including asthma,
       autism, diabetes, severe combined immune deficiency (SCID) and
       metabolic storage diseases such as mucopolysaccharidoses and
       adrenoleukodystrophy

    -- Adapt innovative technologies for screening and quality assurance

    -- Transfer appropriate screening technologies to state public health
       laboratories




    -- Assist states in conducting pilot studies related to new screening
       tests for newborns that would identify babies with disorders that are
       not part of the current panel of tests

    -- Develop systems for new screening tests to monitor the quality of
       testing methods in all laboratories

    -- Upgrade online data-reporting site to accommodate expanding the number
       of newborn screening tests that state laboratories conduct

    -- Develop DNA methods and controls for genetic measurements that will be
       used in the future to detect disorders
    CDC's Environmental Health Laboratory is the only comprehensive source
in the world for ensuring the accuracy of newborn screening tests, and the
nation's public health laboratories depend on it for the success of their
newborn screening operations.
    The Association of Public Health Laboratories works with members to
strengthen laboratories serving the public's health. By promoting effective
programs and public policy, APHL strives to provide public health
laboratories with the resources to protect the health of US residents and
to prevent and control disease globally.
    Contact:
    Jody DeVoll, Director of Communications and Membership, 240.485.2753,
jody.devoll@aphl.org

Link to this page: