Chronic Granulomatous Disease – Raising Awareness

Your body is a walking miracle.  At any given time, at the cellular level, your body is fighting a very real war – a war against infections, bacteria and unwanted microorganisms.  But what if you are an unknown carrier of a genetic disorder that disables certain white blood cells, called phagocytes, from responding properly?  These important policing agents are responsible for killing harmful microorganisms like bacteria and fungi.  Moms who carry this defective chromosome pattern may pass the defect to their child, in which case chronic granulomatous disease may result.  This rare and once deadly disease can cause dangerous symptoms in babies, infants and young children including severe and recurring bacterial and fungal infections like staph, and inflammatory masses in their organs called granulomas.  Today, due to heightened awareness among doctors, available diagnostic blood testing for CGD, and advanced treatment options, survival rates are high and patients are living with and managing CGD well into adulthood.