4th national workshop on primary immunodeficiency diseases inaugurated

PUDUCHERRY: The fourth national workshop on primary immunodeficiency diseases was inaugurated today at the Centrally sponsored JIPMER here.

Former Secretary, Department of Health Research, Delhi and former Director General of Indian Council of Medical Research Dr Vishwa Mohan Katoch inaugurated the workshop, attended by more than 100 doctors from across the country.

A release from the Department of Clinical Immunology said patients with the diseases are often not recognised until late when significant damage might have occurred to body systems and they have poor quality of life due to their illness. This is due to lack of awareness among general care physicians and also specialists in child and adult medicines.

It also said the importance of the immunodeficiency diseases in the context of the world health can be recognised from the fact that World Health Organisation has recently included Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy.

The importance of primary immunodeficiency diseases in today's health care scenario need not be overstated, said the acting Director of JIPMER, Dr B Gitanjali.

Prof. Sudhir Gupta, president of the Foundation for Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases, USA, who was the programme director, presented an introductory lecture