On June 7th, the Interim Rules Review Committee unanimously approved new Department of Health rules to add spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) to South Dakota’s newborn screening panel. SMA is a lower motor neuron disease that is the number one genetic cause of infant death and affects around four infants born in South Dakota each year. The recommended uniform screening panel (RUSP) has recommended the inclusion of SMA tests on newborn panels since 2018, and South Dakota is the 30th state to approve the inclusion of SMA on the newborn panel. The addition of the SMA test to the newborn screening panel requires no changes to the process of sample collection at hospitals and has a cost of around $6/test, which is covered by insurance.
The new rule is effective June 28, 2021. A copy of the rule is available here.
