A top expert in sickle cell disease has shared the fruits of years of research with Bermudian doctors.

Professor Graham Serjeant of the University of the West Indies in Jamaica is on the Island to share his experience of the disease on the Caribbean island with Bermudian health care professionals, sufferers and their families.

Bermudian medic Dr. Wilbert Warner said: "They have made very good use of the resources they have had and with a lot of careful clinical insight they have developed a clinical system there which works very well.'' The hereditary blood disease is most commonly found in people of African or Mediteranean origin.

The red blood cells become rigid and can cause jaundice, anaemia and gall stones.

Complications can disrupt the production of bone marrow, cause ulcers on the legs and blocked blood vessels can cause lung and heart problems as well as strokes.

The disease is borne by carriers who are in good health -- but problems occur when two people with the genetic abnormality have children, leading to a one-in-four chance of one of their children developing the disease.

He added: "In a small community, you often get a fair amount of inbreeding as well and that tends to increase the incidence of the disease.'' Blood infections can cause brain damage or death in young children, but early identification of at-risk parents means that penicillin can be given to youngsters over the first four years of their life to prevent serious problems.

Prof. Serjeant added that one of the most successful innovations in Jamaica is teaching mothers to diagnose a spleen disorder resulting from the disease, which has cut infant deaths by 90 per cent.

He said: "That's a good example of simple clinical research which can be implemented anywhere in the world -- anybody can educate a mother.'' Dr. Warner said only one or two sickle cell disease children are born in Bermuda every year.

He said around 120 people suffered from a milder form of the illness, while about 60 people had the most severe form.

"Jamaica is a little different from Bermuda because we don't have the large number of patients they have and patients here have readier access to the hospital.'' But he added: "It may not be totally applicable to Bermuda, but it is very encouraging to see what can be done.'' Graham Serjeant HEALTH HTH