All newborns in England to be screened for spinal muscular atrophy from 2027

Campaigners hail ‘landmark moment’ in early detection and treatment of rare muscle-wasting disease

Every baby born in England will be screened for a rare muscle-wasting disease, starting next year, the Department of Health and Social Care announced on Thursday.

Campaigners said the “landmark moment” should lead to babies who were found to have spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) being treated early and thus growing up without any of its debilitating symptoms.