SHANGHAI, April 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Primary immunodeficiency diseases (PID) are a group of clinical syndromes characterized by defect or deficiency of immune system caused by congenital or genetic factors, which lead to low immune function of the body against infection. In the past 20 years, 354 kinds of PIDs have been gradually discovered, and this number will continue to increase as the research on immunodeficiency deepens. It is estimated that the cumulative number of pediatric patients with PID is 30,000 to 60,000 cases in China, and there are more than 100 cases with diagnosed PIDs each year just in the Children's Hospital of Fudan University in Shanghai. Such a large and constantly growing number of pediatric patients make PID a "Common rare disease".
However, the public awareness of PID is still very limited. Even some doctors, aside from immunology specialists, have misunderstandings about the diagnosis and treatment of PID. As a result, many pediatric patients with PID are diagnosed with common infections, which not only delays the treatment of the disease but also affects the therapeutic effect. In order to improve the public awareness of PID, to call for the social communities to provide more attention and support to PID patients and their families and to advance the clinical diagnosis and treatment as well as research work of PID, on the occasion of the fifth global "Primary Immunodeficiency Week", Beijing Medical Award Foundation, China Children's Immunity and Health Alliance and BD (China) jointly launched the "PID China Tour" campaign, and the Children's Hospital of Fudan University participated in the first stop of "China Tour".
The "PID China Tour" campaign will comprehensively cover the public and specialists from multiple perspectives, through multiple channels and in multiple forms. For patients and the public, there are plans carry out science popularization education and free combined diagnosis and consultation activities in five national pediatric hospitals, including the Children's Hospital of Fudan University, and more than 50,000 brochures on "Ten Early Warning Symptoms" will be distributed freely to guide parents to take their children to the hospital for standardized diagnosis and treatment as soon as possible.
In addition, there is still a huge gap between doctors, excluding immunology specialists and primary-level doctors, and doctors in specialized hospitals and big cities in disease related diagnosis, treatment and later management. In the professional field, the "PID China Tour" campaign will rely on the foundation laid by the "FCM College" in pediatricians for many years to further connect online, offline platforms and resources. And foreign experts will be invited to share the most cutting-edge international treatment concepts and clinical practices, and meanwhile, domestic experts will be invited to deeply explain the application theory and method and practice of flow cytometry in clinical immunological evaluation, so as to further improve the diagnosis and treatment level of diseases related to immune system of children. The plan for this year is to give academic lectures in 8 cities across the country and train more than 2,000 young and middle-aged pediatric elites. Meanwhile, the PID knowledge contest and cases interpretation, organized through the network college, is expected to cover nearly 10,000 pediatricians in the country. And BD will also assist the China Children's Immunity and Health Alliance to establish a nationwide database for pediatric patients with PID, and carry out regular free diagnosis and consultation for families with diseased children to help them rebuild a healthy and happy life.
"As a leading global medical technology company, BD is advancing the world of health by improving medical discovery, diagnostics and the delivery of care," Mr. Lu Wen, Vice President of BD Biosciences, Greater China, said. "In the field of immune diseases, BD uses advanced flow cytometry technology and global experience to continuously promote the treatment level of diseases. This 'PID China Tour' campaign, jointly conducted with the China Children's Immunity and Health Alliance and the Children's Hospital of Fudan University, is also intended to pool the efforts of all parties to continuously promote the diagnosis and treatment as well as public awareness of PID in China, and save more diseased children, which is also the corporate social responsibility BD is committed to."
