Help....What Does This Mean????
 

Denise,

Your county health department might be the place to start. Incidence of aplastic anemia in the U.S. is estimated to be from 1 to 5 people per million per year. You could alert them to the unusual incidence of aplastic anemia in such a small town.

Something similar happened last year in northern San Diego County (California) when it was reported that several children were diagnosed with aplastic anemia. See, for example, http://www.nbcsandiego.com/health/11264809/detail.html. The CDC got involved too but could not find enough information to define the area as a disease cluster.

One of the problems with the low EXPECTED frequency of aplastic anemia, is that anything more frequent is very worrisome. It's unlikely that there is much you can do for yourself or your family to prevent aplastic anemia other than to avoid the known causative agents like benzyne and some pesticides.

If you decide to contact any local authorities, please let us know how they respond.

Hope this helps.
Ruth

I am so sorry for your granddaughter's recent diagnosis - it breaks my heart to hear about children being diagnosed with this disease....please keep us updated on her condition, hopefully things will get better for her soon....

Michelle

Cluster Study
 

They tried to do a cluster study on the town and county that I live in. A very small population for the area they were studying and about 10 or more people with AA. But, they just didn't have enough evidence of cause I guess. I still feel it was worth a try, because if they had proved any cause for all of these cases (like the chemical plant nearby), it would have possibly helped some, and at least helped us to understand possibly how we got AA.
Connie

Hi Denise,
sorry to hear about your granddaughter. I know exactly what she is going through. I recieved a bone marrow transplant when i was 7 and i'm almost 16. I know she will make it. I'm here to talk if you need to.
Julie Perrotta

Testing our Water