A Bahraini health official has said the kingdom is close to eradicating the potentially deadly sickle cell disease in newborn babies, Gulf Daily News has reported. Education and awareness campaigns have helped Bahrain achieve a 70% drop in cases in the last 25 years and the genetic disease now accounts for only 0.6% of births, according to Salmaniya Medical Complex genetic diseases consultant Dr Amani Al Hajeri. "The rate actually fell considerably after Bahrain started the compulsory screening process for couples intending to get married five years ago," he said.