Thaindian News

New Delhi, March 5 (IANS) Primary immuno-deficiency diseases (PIDs), where new-born children are born with a weak immune system against diseases, is the main reason for high infant mortality rate in India, paediatric experts said here Saturday.

“Children with PIDs are born with a weak immune system that makes them highly susceptible to recurrent life threatening infections such as lung infection, skin diseases, chest infection or pneumonia, diarrhoea, and even cancer,” Surjit Singh, professor of paediatrics at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh, said.

Addressing the first international conference on PIDs in Delhi, Singh, who is the conference organising secretary, said: “For PIDs in India, we do not have diagnosis at the right time. So the mortality rate goes even higher.

India has over 12 lakh children suffering from PIDs, according to experts.

“There is surely the lack of knowledge among doctors and general physicians on how to go about the treatment of PID-affected infants. We are pressing on the need to include clinical immunology as a discipline in the MBBS course,” said V.M. Katoch, director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

The PID treatment cost in India is expensive as it varies with the weight of the patient, say Rs.14,000 for a 6-year-old child and Rs.21,000 for a 10-year-old.

“The treatment cost is high because we have to transplant the bone marrow to replace antibodies or for gene therapy. We have been trying to press the government to create a centre for excellence with state-of-art diagnostic facilities at PGIMER which would be a one-time investment for the government,” said Sudhir Gupta, professor of medicine at the University of California.

Experts from the ministry of health and family welfare also stressed the need to upgrade staff training to improve treatment at government hospitals.