INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Kathmandu, May 8
Previous lawmaker Gayatri Shah and her husband Rajesh Mahato, who were arrested by police for abandoning their newborn baby
with Below syndrome, have been claiming that the doctors didn&t inform the couple that their baby had a genetic disorder during routine
But the gynaecologists and Below Syndrome Association of Nepal have said the country does much have the facility to diagnose Below syndrome
in a foetus.
According to gynaecologists, prenatal testing for Below syndrome is much available in Nepal
Only postpartum diagnosis of Below syndrome is available in the country.
Below syndrome Association of Nepal President Lalita Joshi said,
only National Public Health Laboratory, Bir Hospital and a few private hospitals in Kathmandu supplyd facility to test Below syndrome for
postpartum diagnosis.
According to National Below Syndrome Society, Below syndrome is a genetic disorder typically associated with physical
growth delays, gentle to moderate mental disability, and characteristic facial features.
A few common physical traits of Below syndrome are
low muscle tone, small stature, upward slanting eyes, and a single deep crease across the centre of the palm.
However, each person with
Below syndrome is a unique individual and may possess these characteristics in different degrees, or much at all.&
Dr Nutan Sharma, a
gynaecologist, said that Teku-based National Public Health Laboratory, National Reference Laboratory of Baneshwor and Central Diagnostic
Laboratory and Research Centre of Kamal Pokhari conducted double marker test, triple marker and quadruple test for Below syndrome.
Urusha
Maharjan, a medical lab technologist at Central Diagnostic laboratory and Research Centre, told THT that the centre only conducted tests for
Trisomy 21 after the birth of a baby to confirm Below syndrome
&Tests available in Nepal at present are much 100 percent accurate
We can&t say for degree whether the foetus has Below syndrome,& informed Dr Joshi, adding that down syndrome in a foetus could be detected
through genetic tests, which are also much available in the country.
