Migration and newborn screening: time to build on the European Asylum, Integration and Migration Fund?

Abstract

Purpose

The authors discuss the need for newborn screening in the context of the migration policy of the European Union, and particularly, the European Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund.

Methods

The authors searched scholarly databases (Pubmed, Scopus, Google scholar) and grey literature (LexEuropa, Policy reports) to identify original peer-reviewed research examining the migration to the European Union and the provision of healthcare to infants born to refugees and immigrant mothers. Resources in language different from English, French, German and Greek were not taken into consideration.

Results

Every year, a large number of refugees and immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa and Middle East countries travel to and enter in Europe. It has been estimated that two thirds of those seeking asylum are women and children. Many of these children have been born on the way to Europe or in migrant camps. Essential newborns’ health screening is not accessible in most cases. Congenital conditions such as hypothyroidism and phenylketonuria may remain untreated, and once these infants are diagnosed, the organic damage could be irreversible. Prolonged necessary hospitalisation might be out of consideration at a time when clinics and hospitals are overstrained with COVID-19 patients.

Conclusions

It is essential to ensure that newborn screening will be performed in a timely and evidence-based manner as well as that the information will be communicated between hospitals and within countries’ health networks. In order to achieve these goals interdisciplinary and international technical and logistical collaboration are required.

摘要

目的: 作者讨论了在欧盟, 特别是欧洲庇护, 移民和融合基金的移民政策背景下进行新生儿筛查的必要性。

方法: 作者搜索学术数据库 (Pubmed, Scopus, Google scholar) 和灰色文献 (LexEuropa, Policy reports), 以确定审查向欧盟移民和向难民和移民母亲所生婴儿提供医疗保健的原始同行研究。没有考虑到不同于英语、法语、德语和希腊语的资源。

结果: 每年, 来自撒哈拉以南非洲和中东国家的大量难民和移民前往欧洲并进入欧洲。据估计, 寻求庇护的人中有2/3是妇女和儿童。这些孩子中有许多是在前往欧洲的途中或在移民营地中出生的。在大多数情况下, 基本的新生儿健康筛查是无法获得的。甲状腺功能减退和苯丙酮尿症等先天性疾病可能仍未得到治疗, 一旦这些婴儿被诊断出来, 器质性损害可能是不可逆的。在诊所和医院对新型冠状病毒肺炎患者过度紧张的时候, 延长必要的住院时间可能是不考虑的。

结论: 必须确保及时和循证地进行新生儿筛查, 并确保在医院之间和国家/地区的卫生网络内传达信息。为了实现这些目标, 需要跨学科和国际技术和后勤合作。

Keywords:

• Migrants
• refugees
• newborns
• screening
• congenital conditions
• European union

Acknowledgements

The authors want to thank Dr. Rafael Mazin MD, MPH for his insightful comments regarding a preliminary version of this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).