| Rare Disease |
Article Index for Rare |
Shopping Rare |
Website Links For Rare |
Information AboutRare Disease |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT RARE DISEASE | |
| rare diseases | |
| epidemiology | |
|
PREVALENCE As a guide, low prevalence is taken as prevalence of less than 5 per 10,000 in the community {Link without Title} . The NIH's Office of Rare Diseases states that, "an Orphan or rare disease is generally considered to have a prevalence of fewer than 200,000 affected individuals in the United States" {Link without Title} . Rare diseases will vary from population to population, as a disease that is rare in some populations may be common in another. This is especially true of some genetic and Infectious Diseases . For example, Cystic Fibrosis is a rare genetic disease in most parts of Asia but is relatively common in some Eurasian populations. Many Infectious Disease s, such as Tropical Disease s, are rare outside a given geographic area. Eurordis (European Organisation for rare Diseases) estimates that there exist between 5,000 and 8,000 distinct rare diseases, affecting between 6% and 8% of the population. CHARACTERISTICS Rare diseases are usually chronic and life-threatening. This is so because, given its rarety, less severe illness are just not identified as such. Eurordis estimates that at least 80% of them have identified genetic origins. Other rare diseases are the result of infections and allergies or due to degenerative and proliferative causes. Symptoms of some rare diseases may appear at birth or in childhood, whereas others only appear once adulthood is reached. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS List of rare diseases
Rare diseases organizations Europe
USA Rare diseases information
Scientific Journals |
|
|