Rare Diseases
A rare disease is any medical condition that affects a small percentage of the population. In Europe, a disease is considered rare when it affects fewer than 1 in 2,000 people, while in the United States, the definition applies to conditions affecting fewer than 200,000 people.
There are approximately 7,000 known rare diseases worldwide. These diseases affect an estimated 300 million people globally, with roughly 500,000 patients in Israel dealing with various rare diseases.
The challenge with rare diseases lies not only in their low prevalence but also in the complexity of diagnosis and treatment.
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The zebra Yardena is the charm of the Zalckvar lab. She reminds us that we are committed to the rare patients.​
Why the zebra was chosen to represent rare diseases? Because Dr. Theodore Woodward taught his medical students that when they diagnose a patient they should first think about the more common diseases. Dr. Woodward said: “When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras”.
The Israeli website for rare genetic diseases (https://www.weizmann.ac.il/rare-diseases/), a collaborative effort between Bar-Ilan University and the Weizmann Institute of Science, serves as a vital resource for patients, scientists and healthcare providers, offering information in Hebrew about various rare diseases.​