The government’s 10-year plan for the NHS, which is set to be revealed over the coming few weeks, is aimed at easing pressure on services.<\/p>\n
The Department for Health and Social Care said that genomics – the study of genes – and AI would be used to “revolutionise prevention” and provide faster diagnoses and an “early warning signal for disease”.<\/p>\n
Screening newborn babies for rare diseases will involve sequencing their complete DNA using blood samples from their umbilical cord, taken shortly after birth.<\/p>\n
There are approximately 7,000 single-gene disorders. The NHS study which began in October only looked for gene disorders that develop in early childhood and for which there are effective treatments.<\/p>\n
Currently, newborn babies are offered a heelprick blood test that checks for nine serious conditions, including cystic fibrosis.<\/p>\n
The health secretary said in a statement: “With the power of this new technology, patients will be able to receive personalised healthcare to prevent ill-health before symptoms begin, reducing the pressure on NHS services and helping people live longer, healthier lives.”<\/p>\n
Streeting added: “The revolution in medical science means that we can transform the NHS over the coming decade, from a service which diagnoses and treats ill-health to one that predicts and prevents it.”<\/p>\n
Sequencing DNA gives a lot of information about a person which can then be used to make predictions about the likelihood of them having particular genetic diseases, according to Prof Robin Lovell-Badge, a geneticist at the Francis Crick Institute.<\/p>\n
These include conditions like muscular dystrophy, liver diseases and some kidney problems, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.<\/p>\n
Funding for the new initiative will also support efforts by Genomics England to build one of the world’s largest research databases, with the goal of containing over 500,000 genomes by 2030. <\/p>\n