Free preconceptual screening examination service in rural areas of Hubei Province, China in 2012.

OBJECTIVE: This work aims to collect and summarize the outcomes on free preconceptual screening examination in rural areas of Hubei Province in 2012. Moreover, this review promotes further understanding of the status of this activity to provide the Family Planning Commission valid scientific data upon which to construct effective policies. METHODS: Couples, who complied with the family planning policy and were the residents in agricultural areas or lived in a local rural area for more than six months, were encouraged to participate in the free preconceptual screening examination service provided by the Hubei Provincial Population and Family Planning Commission. This service included 19 screening tests. All the data, including forms, manuals, and test results, were collected from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2012 in rural areas in Hubei Province. RESULTS: A total of 497,860 individuals participated in the free preconceptual screening examination service, with a coverage rate of 97.1%. 4.0% and 4.8% of the participants exhibited with abnormal blood levels of ALT and creatinine, respectively; 0.36% of the participants tested positive for syphilis; 0.44% and 3.6% of the female participants tested positive for Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis, respectively; and 0.84% and 1.8% of the female participants tested positive for cytomegalovirus (IgM) and Toxoplasma gondii (IgM), respectively. After risk assessment, 59,935 participants might have high-risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. In 2012, the prevalence of birth defects among the parturient who participated in the preconceptual screening examination service was 0.04%, while the prevalence was 0.08% among those who did not participate in the service. CONCLUSION: Preconceptual screening examination service may help to address the risk factors that can lead to adverse pregnancy outcome. More studies on the relationship between preconceptual screening examination service and prevalence of birth defect or other adverse pregnancy outcomes should be conducted.

[Hereditary quality standards for laboratory fish].

Although laboratory fish are increasingly used in genetics and other life science research fields, standard quality control and supervision are needed. In China, laboratory animals are all put into a strict licensing and quality management system by the government. The standardization of genetic quality control is crucial to a laboratory fish quality control management system. The goal of Laboratory Animal Regulation is to control genetic quality, avoid hereditary degeneration and genetic drift, and circumvent experimental errors. To achieve this goal, Laboratory Animal Regulations are being developed by consulting experimental data and research findings throughout the world, combining the best known practices in laboratory fish production, and consulting specialists. A new set of laboratory fish genetic quality standards focusing on zebrafish and swordtail fish has been established as a reference for scientific researchers. The new standards define inbred and outbred zebrafish and swordtail fish hereditary classifications, naming principles, breeding methods, and hereditary quality surveying. The new standards provide a frame of reference for laboratory fish users and managers.