Tunis: The number of patients suffering from hemophilia, a hereditary hemorrhagic disease, is around 640 in Tunisia, said president of the Tunisian Hemophilia Association (ATH), Mohamed Taoufik Erraies.
Speaking at a meeting held on Sunday at the City of Science in Tunis to mark the 40th anniversary of the association and World Hemophilia Day, which falls on April 17 each year, he pointed out that hemophilia is caused by a deficiency of a blood clotting factor, leading to recurrent bleeding and spontaneous hemorrhaging.
Erraies pointed out that the ATH is facing a number of challenges, including recording the number of hemophilia patients and collecting data for each region in order to understand the situation and establish a national register of hemophiliacs and people with blood-clotting disorders to facilitate research and medical intervention, as well as promoting care protocols and patient management.
For her part, Emna Gouider, Head of the Hemophilia Unit in Tunis and Vice-President of the World Hemo
philia Federation, highlighted the increase in the number of patients suffering from this hereditary disease, despite the efforts made in terms of prevention and research into appropriate treatments.
She called on relatives of hemophilia patients to learn more about the disease and to opt for the available treatments to alleviate its harmful effects.
The Tunisian Hemophilia Association was founded in 1984 to raise awareness and provide care for people with the disease.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse