For more information about Rare Disease Day in the U.S., go to www.rarediseaseday.us. | Contributed image
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Gene Johnson | Mar 5, 2017

Shire honors Rare Disease Day with launch of 'Rare Count'

Shire recently launched "Rare Count" in honor of Rare Disease Day and the 350 million people worldwide living with rare diseases, which equates to nearly one in 20 global citizens.

Rare Disease Day is an annual awareness day dedicated to educating the public about rare diseases and their associated challenges. It takes place every year on the last day of February.

It is estimated that 50 percent of rare diseases begin in childhood, officials said. The Rare Count campaign applies the "one in 20" rare disease statistic to calculate the potential number of contacts in a user’s social network who could be living with a rare disease.

The shareable result represents the user’s "Rare Count" and underscores the potential personal impact of rare diseases. The campaign, open for all to participate at www.shire.com/RareCount, highlights the under-recognized prevalence of rare diseases.

Anyone visiting the website can calculate and share their individualized Rare Count through Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. For every person who participates, Shire will contribute $1 -- up to $10,000 -- to each of the following umbrella patient advocacy groups focused on rare diseases: National Organization for Rare Disorders, Global Genes and EURORDIS.

For more information about Rare Disease Day in the U.S., go to www.rarediseaseday.us.

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