The Rare Disease Day is celebrated every year on the last day of the February month.
WHO’s definition of rare disease is as often debilitating lifelong disease or disorder with a prevalence of 1 or less per 1000 population.
It is estimated that globally around 6000 to 8000 rare diseases exist. There are new rare diseases being reported in the medical literature regularly. According to estimates, 80% of all rare disease patients are affected by approximately 350 rare diseases.
The campaign targets primarily the general public and also seeks to raise awareness amongst policy makers, public authorities, industry representatives, researchers, health professionals and anyone who has a genuine interest in rare diseases.
There is apparently no cure for the majority of rare diseases and many go undiagnosed.
Rare diseases include rare cancers, autoimmune diseases, congenital malformations, and infectious diseases amongst others.
About half of the rare diseases affect children while the remaining manifest in adulthood. Some examples of rare diseases include Hemangiomas, Hirschsprung disease, Gaucher’s disease, Cystic Fibrosis, muscular dystrophies and Pompe disease.