Is carrier detection available?

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If you have Wilson's disease, it is very difficult at present to reliably determine whether your partner is a carrier (diagram VII), for which the risk is low, approximately 1:100, or not (diagram VI). However, as this distinction generally cannot be made, it may be advisable to screen your child for Wilson's disease, although the chance that this has actually happened is low, i.e. around 1:200 (50% of 1:100). As the copper build_up is slow, reliable biochemical screening can only be done, when your child is a few years of age. Repeating this examination might also be necessary, sometimes more than once, as it may be difficult to make a final distinction between carriers (i.e. non-affected) and patients.