Rare Birth Defects Still Spiking in Washington State

NBC News.com

By JoNel Aleccia

 

James Cheng / for NBC News

Olivia Jackman of Ellensburg, Wash., was born with spina bifida last fall and is considered part of a cluster of neural tube defects in the area that includes the fatal defect, anencephaly.

Seven cases of a rare fatal birth defect were reported in a remote region of Washington state in 2013, making it the fourth consecutive year that rates have more than tripled the national average, health officials said Tuesday.

There’s still no clear reason for the spike in anencephaly, a severe defect in which babies are born missing parts of the brain or skull, according to a statement from Washington state health officials. NBC News investigated the issue in February.

The rate jumped to 8.7 cases per 10,000 births in the area that includes Yakima, Benton and Franklin counties in eastern Washington state, far exceeding the national anencephaly rate of 2.1 cases per 10,000 births.

State officials, working in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, say they plan to convene an advisory committee to review options for investigation and prevention — and they’ll hold “listening sessions” in the community to hear more about public concerns about problems in the region.

That hardly seems like enough, said one mother whose baby was born with spina bifida last year and was considered part of a cluster of cases of neural tube defects in the region.

“It’s good that they want to know everybody’s thoughts, but what are they doing about it?” said Andrea Jackman, 30, who lived in an orchard in Yakima, Wash., while she was pregnant but now lives in Ellensburg. Her daughter, Olivia, is 7 months old.

“Why are they going to put the time and money into chatting with people who don’t know? Do the research.”

The new count follows a report last summer that found more than two dozen cases of babies born with anencephaly and other neural tube defects in the region between 2010 and 2013.

Medical records indicate low rates of folic acid vitamin supplementation in the region, which has been linked to anencephaly. Other studies have shown ties between the defect and exposure to molds and pesticides. Critics have said state and federal officials need to do detailed interviews and a thorough investigation of the eastern Washington cluster.

Many local residents are convinced that leaking tanks of nuclear waste from the region’s nearby Hanford nuclear plant must be to blame, but Dr. Edith Cheng, a University Washington Medicine expert on birth defects, said there has not been a good evaluation of the plant’s impact on anencephaly or other problems.

Experts emphasize the need for all women of childbearing age to take folic acid supplements.