Bubble baby : Living with zero immunity 

General
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Imagine a world where a simple hug could be life-threatening.

This is the reality of Bubble Baby Syndrome.

Bubble Baby is a nickname for children born with Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID), a rare, life-threatening genetic disorder where the immune system is essentially absent or non-functional.

In SCID, the immune system can’t fight infections well. This is because T cells and B cells are either missing or don’t work properly. This makes patients very sick from infections.

Bubble baby
Bubble baby1220Ă—1183 189 KB

Some early signs include:

  • Frequent or persistent infections
  • Failure to gain weight or grow at a normal rate
  • Chronic cough or difficulty breathing
  • Diarrhea that persists or recurs frequently

Early detection and treatment are key. Prompt diagnosis and proper treatment can greatly help babies with SCID.

How effective is newborn screening for SCID?

MBH/PS

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I feel posts like this are important because many people are unaware of rare conditions like SCID.
Early signs like repeated infections or poor growth should never be ignored in children. Early diagnosis and timely treatment can truly save lives.

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Totally agree with this

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Informative post. Promoting awareness for early signs like failure to thrive and persistent infections is essential for every clinician.

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Agreed with your thoughts

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Absolutely,New born screening and awareness about such type of rare disease is very important.

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New born babies should be screened in every aspect to know what the baby can suffer so that we can prevent diseases by any means available.

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Informative post. Promoting awareness about such rare disorders is very important.

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9

Learned something new today.

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Newborns are highly sensitive and require utmost care, support, and close monitoring. They should be carefully examined and screened for any possible conditions, helping identify and rule out potentially life-threatening problems at the earliest stage.

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Without screening, SCID is fatal within the first few years life due to infections. Early detection allows doctors to take preventive measures. Newborn screening for Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) is highly effective, thereby improving the prognosis before any infection occurs.

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We really need more awareness around this issue.

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Totally agreed!

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i think David Phillip Vetter from Texas was the first Bubble Baby. he survived till 12 years of age. His elder brother was also born with this SCID condition but he survived only 7 months. And doctors knew that the second baby will have 50% chances of inheriting this disease , David within 20 seconds of birth was transferred to sterile bubble.

Newborn screening for SCID is really important, as early as possible the doctor knows, all the preventive measure can be taken before a simple infection becomes fatal for that newborn.

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A powerful reminder of the importance of newborn screening

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Informative post! I remember reading an article on severe combined immunodeficiency a long time back. This post reminds us how important postnatal screening is. Early diagnosis and timely treatment are definitely going to improve the life expectancy of such children. I would like to know if there are any measures one can take during pregnancy to prevent such conditions in the baby. Is there technology that helps in screening for such disorders during the course of pregnancy itself?

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I have heard about this case this. The boy, David Vetter who was called bubble boy and thus the bubble baby syndrome.He received bone marrow transplant from his sister.The transplanted bone marrow contained a dormant strain of the Epstein-Barr virus. Because he had no immune system, the virus multiplied rapidly and caused aggressive Burkitt lymphoma (cancer).He died at age of 12.

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