Rhesus
incompatibility occurs when the immune system of a pregnant woman generates
antibodies which attack her fetus’ red blood cells. The condition is thought to
contribute significantly to the infant mortality ratio in developing countries.
According to
the United Nations Children’s Fund, the global neo-natal mortality rate has
fallen dramatically in the last two decades, dropping from 4.7 million to 2.8
million in 2013. But while giant strides have been made to save millions of
children, the international organisation posits that 17,000 under-five children
died every day in 2013. This, according to UNICEF, translates to almost one
million babies who died on the day they were born and two million babies who
died within the first seven days after birth.
Although not
a major factor, experts have noted that Rhesus incompatibility may be a silent
contributor to neo-natal mortality rate. In a telephone interview with our
correspondent on Tuesday, the Project Director, Rhesus Solution Initiative, Mr.
Razaq Olorunnimbe, said not many women bother to know their rhesus status for
lack of awareness.
He also said
rhesus incompatibility is not a disease, but a blood group classification.
While advising every woman to know her rhesus status, Olorunnimbe, who noted
that rhesus incompatibility is still an uncharted area for many international
organisations, said it is a condition which could be successfully treated.
“It is a
preventable condition. It is not a disease. Being rhesus-negative is a blood
grouping classification. If both the pregnant woman and her unborn baby are
rhesus-negative, then there is no need for an intervention. But you will need a
rhoGAM injection when a woman is negative and her unborn baby is positive,’’ he
said.
“The World
Health Organisation has not done much work on Rhesus incompatibility. But
statistics we got after testing many women shows a prevalence of 6.01 per cent.
Our own statistics from our free blood group and Rhesus status test at
different awareness campaigns across Lagos shows that 228 out of 3,796 persons
screened are Rhesus-negative, which represents 6.01 per cent. Different
researches have also said it is between five and 7.5 per cent,’’ he added.
Speaking
with our correspondent, a Consultant Haematologist with the Lagos University
Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Dr. Titilope Adeyemo, three per cent of Nigeria’s
population is Rhesus-negative. She also noted that rhesus incompatibility might
not affect the first pregnancy but have a damning effect on subsequent
pregnancies.
“Three per
cent of our population is Rhesus-negative. That is a well -established fact. It
is what we see in our laboratories through blood donors. When women who are
Rhesus-negative marry men who are positive, we say they have a rhesus
incompatibility status. If the woman gets pregnant and the baby is
rhesus-negative there is no problem, but if the baby inherits the rhesus status
of the father, then it becomes a problem.
“We can
prevent the woman from being alloimmunised (producing antibodies that destroy
the baby’s red blood cells), if we determine she is rhesus-negative. With the
first there may not be a problem but she needs to have the rhoGAM injection
because of subsequent pregnancies,’’ she said.
Just as
people place priority on knowing their genotype and the human immuno deficiency
status, Olorunnimbe advised women to know their rhesus status and its
implication. According to him, the greatest threats to eradicating unnecessary
deaths arising from rhesus incompatibility are negligence and lack of
awareness.
“Some people
do not know their rhesus status. Those who know do not know the implication and
even when people know the implication, they either ‘faith it out’ or become
negligent.’’
He said the
rhoGAM injection, which costs N15, 000 in Nigeria, helps to prevent a pregnant
woman who is rhesus-negative from producing antibodies which could destroy the
red blood cells of her fetus. He, however, said the high cost of the injection
was still a burden to many women in Nigeria.
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