In the first half of the year, 518 fewer children were born in Portugal than in 2023

According to the heel prick test, which analysed 41,284 newborns in the first six months of the year, there were around 500 fewer births in Portugal in the first half of the year than in the same period last year.

According to the National Institute of Health Dutor Ricardo Jorge (INSA), “in the first half of this year, 41,284 newborns were screened within the National Neonatal Screening Program, 518 fewer than in the same period last year (41,802).”

According to official data, January (7683), May (7181) and April (7040) were the months of the first semester with the highest number of newborns examined.

Lisbon, Porto, Setubal and Braga are the districts with the highest number of newborns tested.

Bragança, Portalegre, Guarda, Beja and Vila Real were the areas with the lowest number of babies monitored, with monthly values ​​below one hundred.

The heel prick test identified 150 cases of rare diseases in 2023 among 85,764 children examined, including 54 hereditary metabolic diseases, 50 congenital hypothyroidism, 6 cystic fibrosis, 34 sickle cell anemia, and 50 congenital hypothyroidism. Six had spinal muscle atrophy.

Under the coordination of INSA, through the Neonatal Screening, Metabolism and Genetics Unit of the Department of Human Genetics, PNRN has been monitoring 28 pathologies since 1979, identifying 2,692 cases of rare diseases by the end of 2023 after screening 4,224,550 newborns.

According to the institute, the identification of the disease allowed “all patients to immediately begin specific treatment, avoiding intellectual deficits and other irreversible neurological or extraneurological changes with subsequent morbidity or mortality.”

Although not mandatory, the program currently has a coverage rate of 99.5%, with the average time to treatment initiation being around 10 days.

The “foot test” is performed from the third day of a newborn’s life, collecting a few drops of blood from the baby’s foot.