There has been a lot of talk recently in Algeria about the increasingly rare or orphan diseases, as experts have sounded the alarm over their health consequences for the lives of families and individuals.
Especially since the country has two million people with rare diseases, the causes of which are often inherited, as Professor Belkasem Bayod, head of the pediatric ward at Steve Hospital in eastern Algeria, revealed.
In addition to hemophilia, these diseases cause serious abnormalities in the baby’s organs, spleen, liver and heart, according to a recent biodetic explanation.
Meanwhile, Mouloud Mocho, president of the Association of Rare Diseases and Autism, shocked Algerians a few days ago by talking about the identification of more than 270 rare diseases in several Algerian cities, especially Tizi Ozu, Bejaia, Gordaya and Jajal. Studies have shown that the cause of their emergence is primarily due to the percentage of more than 35%, the phenomenon of consanguineous marriage and the existence of genes transmitted through births resulting from this marriage.
He added: “Rare diseases include immunodeficiency, cellular metabolism, scleroderma, Sjنgren’s syndrome, hereditary blood disease, Welchon and Bastien syndrome, arterial blood clotting and opioid poisoning.”
Doctors and specialists call on the country’s health officials to reduce the high costs of the government and patients’ families by establishing specialized centers for the treatment of patients with these diseases, and to refer patients to hospitals abroad for treatment. Reduce complex and slow administrative processes during the treatment process abroad.
The country’s health officials, in turn, plan to allocate 12 billion dinars to import medicine and food supplements for 20 rare diseases in Algeria and to follow up on these diseases to limit their prevalence.
Algerian President Abdel Majid Teboun had instructed the Ministry of Health to provide free care by the government for 373 children with cellular metabolism and immunodeficiency in 18 provinces by providing dietary supplements and medicine.
Tebon also ordered that, in coordination with associations of rare diseases specialists, these diseases be kept under the microscope of the government for early detection.
It is worth noting that people with these rare diseases, in the absence of early diagnosis devices, suffer daily problems.
However, these diseases are called rare or orphaned due to the low number of patients compared to other diseases and usually affect less than five out of ten thousand people.
Source: Lebanon Debate
