Epidemiology and Control of Congenital Anomalies: a pilot programme in the Northwest of Iran

Introduction: Occurrence of congenital anomalies varies between different countries and areas ranging from 2 to 10 percent of births. They are a leading cause of perinatal mortality and childhood morbidity and disability in many countries. This is an ongoing project aiming to establish a monitoring system of congenital anomalies in the Northwest of Iran, and to implement control and preventive tasks in the region. Design and Population: Our program covers about 15 000 births (per year) in the defined area with about 300 (average per year) cases of congenital anomalies born with one of the anomalies in the popula…