This article was automatically translated from HIBAPRESS, the Arabic version:
Hibapress
Chromosomal anomalies such as Down’s syndrome 21, 18 and 13 are a real public health issue in Morocco, as in many countries. Linked to various risk factors, these genetic anomalies have a heavy impact on both the people concerned and their families and the health system as a whole. The challenge is all the more important since it affects diagnostic, management and especially early screening issues.
From now on, non -invasive prenatal screening (DPNI) is fully carried out in Morocco. This advance allows health professionals and future parents to locally benefit from a advanced test, without recourse to foreign laboratories. The DPNI makes it possible to detect the main chromosomal anomalies early, namely Trisomies 21, 18 and 13, thanks to a simple maternal blood test from the 9th week of pregnancy. This test is prescribed in particular when a risk of anomaly is suspected in the fetus.
This analysis, fast and without risk for mother and child, displays a detection rate greater than 99.9 %, a performance made possible thanks to the use of new generation sequencing technologies (NGS). This technological progress is made, among other things, by the Anoual Center laboratory, which has set up the infrastructures necessary for the performance of the test on its site.
Until recently, this analysis required the sending of samples abroad, which lengthened deadlines and increased costs. In comparison, previous methods such as amniocentesis, practiced from the 15th week of pregnancy, included a significant risk of miscarriage (about 1 in 300 cases).
The local availability of the DPNI is part of the dynamics of improving the care offer in Morocco, with a clear objective: to make the most advanced diagnoses accessible to the greatest number.
More details on non -invasive prenatal screening are available here.
