Newborn Bloodspot Screening

Screening in the first week of life before symptoms appear enables earlier targeted treatment and reduces morbidity and mortality. The current Australian programme screens for about 30 conditions and detects about 1 in 800 babies annually with serious but treatable conditions. The study screen is conducted in parallel with standard newborn screening using the same bloodspot sample. Current newborn bloodspot screening is limited because it detects only a small subset of treatable childhood conditions. Australian newborn bloodspot screening is universal, free, and screens nearly 300,000 newborns annually.