Beginning this week, that list of potentially life-threatening disorders will swell to 21 as Wisconsin adds 14 disorders to its newborn screening panel. By state law, every baby born in Wisconsin is screened for certain inherited disorders within the first week of life. If left untreated, these problems can lead to slow growth, blindness, brain damage and possibly death. A newborn baby may look perfectly healthy, but still have an inherited disease. Although these disorders are fairly rare, finding them early and treating them promptly prevents many serious complications.
Treatment consists of special diets and vitamin supplements.
The technology to screen for the 14 disorders has only become available in recent years. The laboratory has been piloting the use of the tandem mass spectrometer since June 1999. Between that time and today, there have been five babies confirmed to have one of the 14 disorders. Laboratory staff estimate they will detect 15-20 cases per year out of the approximately 70,000 babies they screen. The actual testing occurs at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene's Newborn Screening Laboratory at the UW-Madison.