A warning is issued about a disease affecting every child born in England.

The UK's Department of Health and Social Care has decided to screen every child born in England for a very rare spinal muscular atrophy disease.

This disease, known as 'Spinal Muscular Atrophy' (SMA), causes children's limbs to become weak, making it impossible for them to sit, crawl, or walk. Additionally, breathing and swallowing difficulties may arise, and if the disease is not diagnosed in time, there is a high risk of the child dying within two years.

According to statistics, this disease affects approximately one in 10,000 babies, with about 48 such patients reported annually in the UK. However, if the condition is identified immediately after birth, these children can be given the opportunity to lead a normal life through gene therapy treatments.

Starting this October, this new test will be conducted using blood samples taken from the heels of five-day-old babies. This blood test is already successfully used to identify 10 other diseases, including cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease.

Under a pilot project announced last April, only about 72% of newborns in England were previously scheduled to undergo this test. However, due to criticisms that this would fail to identify some patients and was an unfair method, ministers have taken steps to ensure all approximately 563,000 babies born annually will be screened from October 2027.

Giles Lomax, Chief Executive of 'Spinal Muscular Atrophy', and Andy Fletcher, Chief Executive of 'Muscular Dystrophy UK', have stated that this decision is a crucial step forward.

Ocean Jade and Story Monroe, the twin daughters of former 'Little Mix' singer Jesy Nelson, have also been identified with this disease, and Jesy Nelson's massive awareness campaign has significantly raised political and media attention on this condition recently.