European Commission calls for efforts on rare diseases

BRUSSELS, Nov. 11 (Chinese media) -- The European Commission on Tuesday asked for a strategy to support European Union (EU) member states in diagnosing, treating and caring for the 36 million EU citizens with rare diseases.

The commission wanted the EU strategy to improve recognition and visibility of rare diseases, support national plans for rare diseases in the member states, and strengthen cooperation and coordination for rare disease at EU level.

"We want to bring patients with rare diseases out of the shadows. Expertise on rare diseases is fragmented across the Union. Even the very existence of some of these diseases is not fully recognized. That means that too many patients spend years of uncertainty before their conditions are correctly diagnosed and treated," said EU Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou.

Rare diseases are conditions that affect fewer than five in every 10,000 people. There are between 5,000 and 8,000 rare diseases. These conditions are predominantly genetic in origin, but also include rare cancers, auto-immune diseases and congenital malformations.