Test for CF at birth

Question

Do all clinics in Belgium test for CF at birth ?
Greetings and thank you

Answer

Dear questioner,
Thank you for this relevant and up-to-date question. There is indeed the possibility to test for CF at birth before the baby will have symptoms of any sort. The test that has been available for the longest time is detecting immunoreactive trypsine (IRT) in a blood sample taken after birth. Because this test is often falsely positive it is at present no longer in general use in Belgium. If this test is combined with detecting the most common CF mutations (genetic testing) or with other tests such as PAP (pancreatic associated protein) the quality of the test is much improved. In addition a lot of recent data prove that early detection of CF will improve the outcome for the patient. When the correct treatment is started in this early stage before any symptoms occur, a better nutritional status, improved lung function and most likely also improved survival will result.

Internationally one agrees that detecting CF at birth is possible and useful. Many countries have started systematic screening also countries close to us such as France and UK. Physicians involved in CF care in Belgium also greatly favour general screening for CF. At present our government asked for a feasibility study on this subject. We need to check for Belgium which tests and which sequence of tests is most appropriate to yield the best result. In addition organisational and financial aspects should be studied. We therefore hope that after this feasibility study universal screening for CF will start in Belgium. At present isolated clinics continue to do an IRT test. Of course screening should go hand in hand with early referral to expert CF centres.

M. Proesmans

13.10.2009