A disease is considered rare when it affects fewer than 1 in 2,000 residents, the organisation explains.
“Rare diseases are usually serious and complex. Many rare diseases are life-threatening or chronically debilitating. Most rare diseases cannot be cured
A disease is considered rare when it affects fewer than 1 in 2,000 residents, the organisation explains.
“Rare diseases are usually serious and complex. Many rare diseases are life-threatening or chronically debilitating. Most rare diseases cannot be cured, but with a correct diagnosis, the symptoms can often be treated, which improves the quality of life and patients live longer. Seventy-two percent of all rare diseases are genetic disorders.”
The category includes 6,100 different diseases qualified as rare (listed here), affecting 5% of the world’s population. By far the majority are genetic disorders, and about one in three children diagnosed with a rare disease will die before their fifth birthday.
One of the prob