Cousin marriages identified as major reason for rising child mortality rate.

ENGLAND : A study of child deaths in England has revealed that 1 in 14 children who died over a 4-year period had parents who were close blood relatives. Experts have called the situation alarming and called for immediate action. According to the National Child Mortality Database, there were 13,045 child deaths in England between 2019 and 2023, of which 926 children (about 7%) were born to parents who were close relatives, such as first cousins. Experts say that although the exact number of close relatives across the country is unclear, the percentage of these children in the mortality figures is unusually high. The report also highlights racial, socio-economic disparities in child mortality. According to a study conducted in Bradford, 1 in 6 children there had first cousin parents, the majority of whom were said to be from the Pakistani community. Health experts have described this issue as a serious public health problem.