Enhancing Disease Detection in Newborns: Building Capacity in Public Health Laboratories

Description

This NOFO will increase the capacity and capability of state and territorial newborn screening laboratories to test for newborn screening conditions as recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children (ACHDNC), and those that might be added to individual state panels by state-level advisory committees or state legislatures. Early detection of these conditions, whose symptoms are not clinically observable at birth, save thousands of infants and children from disability and death through early detection and treatment. With this 2-year funding opportunity, CDC intends to support up to 8 state or territorial newborn screening laboratories to add HHS ACHDNC-recommended newborn screening conditions to their newborn screening panel. CDC intends to work collaboratively with recipients to enhance state and territorial newborn screening laboratory capability to implement these and future HHS ACHDNC -recommended newborn screening conditions. CDC also intends to work collaboratively with recipients to improve the quality of newborn screening testing in the U.S., in part through data harmonization efforts. This funding will result in a greater number of newborns that are appropriately screened, identified, and referred for treatment for condition detected through state newborn dried blood spot screening.

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