Wisconsin ranks 31st in screening newborns for health conditions

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - When babies are born, hospitals screen newborns for various health conditions. Investigate TV found newborn screenings widely differ from state to state and no state tests for all 37 conditions part of the Recommended Uniform Screening Panel (RUSP).

Wisconsin tests for 48 conditions after a baby is born, 33 of them are among the tests recommended by the federal government.

The four RUSP conditions the state does not test for include the following:

• Guanidinoacetate methyltransferase deficiency - prevents the body from making creatine, an energy booster
• Mucopolysaccharidosis type 1 - Prevents the body from processing complex sugars properly creating buildup in cells throughout the body
• Mucopolysaccharidosis type II - Prevents the body from breaking down long chains of sugars because it’s missing or doesn’t have enough enzymes
• X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy - A disorder that affects the nervous system and the adrenal glands

However, the Badger State does test babies for the 15 following conditions that are not part of the federal recommendations. Many of these conditions prevent the body from breaking down certain fats and turn them into energy.

• 2,4 Dienoyl CoA reductase deficiency
• 2-methyl 3 hydroxy butyric aciduria (HSD10 disease)
• 3-methylglutaconic acidemia
• Carnitine palmitoyl transferase deficiency type 1/type 2
• Carnitine acylcarnitine translocase deficiency
• Citrullinemia type II - Prevents the body from removing ammonia properly
• Glutaric acidemia type 2
• Hypermethioninemia - prevents the body from properly processing proteins
• Non-PKU hyperphenylalaninemia
• Medium chain ketoacyl coA thiolase deficiency
• Medium/short chain 3 hydroxyacyl CoA dehydrogenase deficiency
• Methylmalonic acidemia with homocystinuria - prevents the body from properly processing certain nutrients from food and a protein released while urinating
• Tyrosinemia II
• Tyrosinemia III

Looking around the Midwest, Iowa tests for 52 conditions, including 32 RUSP tests; Minnesota tests for 63 conditions, including 35 RUSP tests; and Illinois tests for 64 conditions, including 36 RUSP tests.

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