Primary Immune Deficiencies e A rapidly emerging area of basic and clinical research

In this special issue of Genes&Diseases,Primary Immune Deficiencies(PIDs)are the main focus.This is an exciting and a rapidly emerging field of basic and clinical immunology wherein upwards of 400 clinical conditions,with approximately 350 defined mutations,are now recognized.Contrary to common perception,PIDs as a group are not uncommon.Epidemiologic studies show that population prevalence of PIDs is approximately 1:2000.Statistical extrapolations of this figure would suggest that in a large country like China or India,approximately 1 million individuals would be expected to have a PID.However,at present because of lack of awareness of these conditions amongst both the laity as well as medical professionals,majority of these patients remain undiagnosed and untreated in many developing countries.This is clearly unfortunate.