China is suffering a high congenital birth defect rate and it is urgent for the country to take more effective measures to tackle this issue, according to Zheng Xiaoying, a professor with the Population Research Institute of Beijing University.

China reported a birth defect rate of 13.1 per thousand in surveys carried out in 1996 and 1987. However, the actual figure must be much higher than this, said Zheng.
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International studies indicate that the average birth defect rate in developing countries is 78.6 per thousand, but only 27.6 per thousand could be detected at birth.

In data collection, the international practice usually keeps inspecting children until the age of five for serious genetic diseases and birth defects that did not show up immediately after birth. However, limited by diagnosis skills and backward statistical methods, China could only give an estimated figure.

The cases that have been detected are only the tip of the iceberg, said Zheng. Experts estimate that China has at least 800,000 to 1 million birth defect cases every year, with the estimated rate above 50 per thousand.

The problem is extremely serious in backward regions including north China's Shanxi and west China's Guizhou Provinces. Shanxi is believed to have the highest birth defect rate in China and HeshunCounty is the worst in the province.

"Almost all kinds of congenital birth defects listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) can be found in Heshun and nearly half of the county's population is affected," according to Liang Jinkui, director of the Heshun Women and Children's Health Center.
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A survey in Heshun in 2001 showed that a bad living environment and lack of nutrition are two major factors contributing to the problem. The polluted environment is another important cause, as Shanxi Province is famous for its numerous coal mines with serious environmental impact.

Apart from causing death during childbirth, birth defects bring a much heavier economic burden than even infectious diseases. The annual cost of Down's syndrome cases, for example, is nearly 2 billion yuan (US$240 million), according to experts.

Most of the birth defect control depends on examination and diagnosis before the baby's birth. "This might bring little effect at high cost if not well planned," said Zheng.

Zheng urged more efforts also to be put on two other aspects: consultation and examination before pregnancy and medical treatment after birth defects were diagnosed.

China's State Population and Family Planning Commission implemented a congenital birth defect prevention project in 2001. As one of the four pilot counties in Shanxi province, Heshun invests over 200,000 yuan (US$24,000) each year to train pregnant women on prenatal care and provide nutrient supply, fetal examinations and medical treatment to babies with birth defects.

The Ministry of Health has set the goal of lowering the figure to the level of developed counties by 2010.

Zheng's institute is doing the research on controlling China's birth defect cases inherited from parents or caused by polluted environment.

"Birth defect prevention needs participation of the whole society," said Zheng.

(Xinhua News Agency December 14, 2003)