In an effort to communicate its message to parents of newborn babies in Ontario, Newborn Screening Ontario (NSO) has decided to use a video series that will be available in thirty of the most commonly spoken languages in the province. KAV is working with a multilingual translation firm along with a variety of local voice artists on the latest series to be released in 30 languages later this spring. The original twenty language DVD released in 2015, which includes closed captioning, has been distributed to hospitals across Ontario and is also available on the NSO’s YouTube channel.
The latest version will be available in these languages:
- English
- French
- Arabic
- Bengali
- Chinese-Cantonese
- Chinese-Mandarin
- Cree
- Dari
- Farsi
- German
- Greek
- Gujarati
- Hindi
- Italian
- Korean
- Oji-Cree
- Ojibway
- Pashto
- Polish
- Portuguese
- Punjabi
- Romanian
- Russian
- Serbian
- Somali
- Spanish
- Tagalog
- Tamil
- Ukrainian
- Urdu
- Vietnamese
What is the Newborn Screening Test?
About 140,000 babies are born every year in Ontario. Newborn screening is a blood test done shortly after birth to test for treatable diseases that are not usually apparent in the newborn period. Early detection of these diseases is the key to effective treatment and can prevent serious health problems and even save lives. A heel prick allows health care providers to collect a small amount of blood on special filter paper. This blood is sent to Newborn Screening Ontario (NSO) where it is tested for 29 diseases.