beta thal minor 15 month old baby

Hi my grandaughter aged 15 months was admitted to hospital 2 weeks ago unable to walk.  The initial diagnosis was that she had reactive arthritis followed by "likely" cellulitis.  They ran a number of blood tests and my daughter received a phone call from the hospital saying that the baby has Beta Thalassemia Minor, and it was nothing to worry about.  They did say though that her haemaglobin levels were low and that she has mild anaemia and that these will be ongoing.

Another genetic blood disorder runs in my family - Haemachromatosis.  I don't know if the baby was tested for this gene - but if she was a carrier for both Haemachromatosis and Beta Thal minor could the two different genes mutate together.

Also could the cellulitis have been caused by the Beta Thal minor?

Any ideas?

Hi Anne-Marie,

I have never heard of any connection between thalassemia and cellulitis. At your granddaughter's age, symptoms of thal minor would most likely be confined to a low Hb level. I would strongly recommend that she be tested for hemochromatosis. The hemochromatosis gene and thalassemia genes will not react with each other in any way, but it could lead to  problems in treating the hemochromatosis, because her Hb level will always be low, so the routine method of blood letting for hemochromatosis would probably not be a proper treatment. If it does prove that she does have hemochromatosis, a low iron diet will be essential. Since thal minor does not improve with iron supplements, these should be avoided even if she is negative for hemochromatosis. Diet and nutrition will be very important because of the thal minor, but I am hesitant to advise until we know the hemochromatosis status.

Thanks for your response Andy

We rang the hospital yesterday to asked if she had been tested for haemachromatosis and will probably have to wait a few days to get a response.

Does the beta thal minor and low haemaglobin meant that she is going to be prone to infection etc?

I will be back in touch when we have further infor - many thanks