RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia has begun screening newborns for a disorder known as “bubble boy disease.” Media outlets report that Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced the addition of severe combined immunodeficiency to the screening list on Monday. Virginia requires newborns to be screened for more than two dozen potentially fatal disorders. Severe combined immunodeficiency affects about one in 50,000 live births. It impairs the immune system, making infants susceptible to infections. The disorder became known as “bubble boy disease” following the case of a Texas boy, David Vetter, who was born with a form of it in 1971. He spent most of his life in a plastic bubble until he died in 1984 at age 12.
