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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffPrimary immunodeficiency disorders — also called primary immune disorders or primary immunodeficiency — weaken the immune system, allowing repeated infections and other health problems to occur more easily.
Many people with primary immunodeficiency are born missing some of the body's immune defenses, which leaves them more susceptible to germs that can cause infections.
Some forms of primary immunodeficiency are so mild they may go unnoticed for years. Other types of primary immunodeficiency are severe enough that they are discovered almost as soon as an affected baby is born.
Treatments can boost the immune system for many types of primary immunodeficiency disorders. Most children with primary immunodeficiency disorders lead relatively normal lives, and are able to go to school and play with friends.
- Primary immunodeficiency. Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/primary_immuno.cfm. Accessed June 12, 2011.
- Specific medical therapy. In: Blaese R, et al. IDF Patient and Family Handbook for Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases. 4th ed. Towson, Md.: Immune Deficiency Foundation; 2007. http://www.primaryimmune.org/publications/book_pats/patient_and_family_handbook_4th.pdf. Accessed June 12, 2011.
- Primary immunodeficiency diseases. American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. http://www.aaaai.org/patients/topicofthemonth/0407/. Accessed June 12, 2011.
- Immunodeficiency disorders. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/print/sec13/ch164/ch164a.html. Accessed June 12, 2011.
- Fischer A, et al. Gene therapy for primary adaptive immune deficiencies. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 2011;127:1356.
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