PRIMARY IMMUNODEFICIENCY DISEASES IN GULF

Introduction

Primary immunodeficiency diseases (PID) are a group of more than 300 rare, chronic disorders in which part of the body’s immune system is missing or functions improperly. There are nine classes of PID aggregating to more than 120 conditions that are recognized by IUIS ‘International Union of Immunological Societies’ (Bousfiha et al., 2015a). In essence PID are heterogeneous category of inherited disorders, which cause people prone to an assortment of clinical manifestations such as malignancies, autoimmunity, and infections. Adequate treatment preceded by early diagnosis of these disorders can lower the level of mortality and morbidity. The multifactorial and autosomal recessive kinds of PID are seem to be more prevalent among Arabs in the Gulf area probably due to the genetic background of the ethnic groups in this region and due to high level of consanguine marriages. These facts creates a necessity for special treatment and diagnostic approaches while offering an opportunity to look at the genetic and novel phenotype defects. The ensuing sections looks at the prevalence of PID in Arabs in the Gulf area, the immune and clinical profile of Arab patients with PID, genetic causes responsible for PID and governments efforts to limit PID spread. 

Prevalence of PID among Arabs in the Gulf Area 

The minimum estimated PID prevalence in Oman is 4.5 cases per every 100,000 (Ehlayel et al.,2013a), 6.44 per 100,000 in Qatar (Al-Muhsen et al., 2012), 6.5 per 100,000 in Tunisia (Al-Hammadi et al., 2012), and 0.24 per 100,000 in Jordan (Rezaei et al., 2011). Other Gulf countries have prevalence rate ranging from 0.24 per 100, 000 to 6.5 per 100, 000 people. According to Bousfiha et al., (2015a) the PID incidence in Arabs for the children aged between 0 to 4 years is 13.5% compared to 17.8% of the world, 5 to 14 years is 6.3% compared to 10.8% of the world, age between 15 to 24, is 11% compared 16.2%…………………..