As an increasingly growing number of parents fall into the dilemma of frustration, anxiety and wasting time and money on treating children frequently due to recurrent inexplicable illnesses and infections, the identification of primary immunodifficiencies (PID) has never been more crucial.

Recent research indicates that among children the ratio of those suffering from the condition can reach up to one in every two thousand, rising as high as one in every five hundred. The numbers shockingly resemble those related to leukemia, but still they do not receive adequate attention.

"Primary immunodeficiency had been one major area significantly overlooked in our community in the past years, and time has come to shed more light on the issue and to raise more awareness through various campaigns and media channels, especially in light of the PID international conference held in London this year [20-28 April] which creates an opportunity to emphasize the issue locally as well, especially that the increasing recognition of the cause will mark announcing 28 April as the PID day each year starting the coming year," says Dr Aisha El Marsafy, professor of pediatrics at Cairo University.

Dr El Marsafy sheds more light on the nonprofit International Patient Organization For Primary Immunodifficiencies (IPOPI), which according to its official site, is dedicated to improving awareness, access to early diagnosis and optimal treatments for PID patients worldwide. It works in partnership with a range of stakeholders such as healthcare professionals, patients and patient organizations, government institutions, legislators and industry to improve the environment and care for patients throughout the world. It has highlighted ten indicators of a potential sufferer of primary immunodeficiency, especially if two or more are combined:

·         Two or more pneumonias within one year

·         Four or more new ear infections within one year.

·         Failure of an infant to gain weight or grow normally.

·         Persistent thrush in mouth or elsewhere on skin.

·         Two or more serious sinus infection within one year.

·         A family history of primary immunodeficiency.

·         A need for intravenous antibiotics to clear infections.

·         Recurrent, deep skin or organ abscesses.

·         Two or more months on antibiotics with little effect.

·         Two or more deep seated infections.