Hungary's Baby Health Check: A Half-Century of Progress and What's Next

Hungary has been checking newborns for serious health issues for 50 years now. This started with tests for two rare conditions: phenylketonuria and galactosemia. Later, they added a test for congenital hypothyroidism 40 years ago. Today, they test for 27 different disorders, plus an optional test for spinal muscular atrophy. Two big labs in Budapest and Szeged handle all these tests. They have good equipment and know what they're doing. The government also helps pay for it. Since 1975, they've found 3, 289 babies with health issues out of over 5. 6 million tested. That's a lot of babies who got help early! But it's not just about the tests. The people working in these labs are dedicated. They keep learning and improving. They also follow international standards. The goal is to make sure every baby in Hungary gets the same care, no matter where they're born. So, what's next? Hungary wants to keep making things better. They want to make sure all babies get the best start in life. They also want to work with other countries in Europe to share ideas and improve newborn health everywhere.