Call for cystic fibrosis screening

A UK paediatrician has criticised a Department of Health committee for its refusal to launch a £1.5m national cystic fibrosis (CF) screening programme. Dr Jim Littlewood, of St James University Hospital, Leeds, said that a £2 test to pinpoint the illness in newborns 'would cost nothing to implement and would end untold suffering'.

Newborn babies in the UK are already tested for several inherited conditions, including phenylketonuria, using a few drops of blood taken from the heel. Dr Littlewood, who runs a screening service in Leeds, says the same samples could be used to carry out a genetic test for CF. Rosie Barnes, of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, described the Department of Health's refusal to act as 'offensive and obscene'. 'We are consigning hundreds of children to death in their teens because the country will not spend £1.5m', she told the Observer newspaper.

CF is the most common life-threatening genetic condition in the UK, with around five affected babies born each week. The disease mainly affects the lungs and pancreas, causing breathing and digestive problems. Once diagnosed, children are given antibiotics to fight lung infections and enzymes to help digestion.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said the decision not to screen was under constant review. 'However, current evidence does not show screening the newly-born will always produce benefits' she added.