Over one million Indians are believed to be living with primary immunodeficiency diseases (PID). Yet there is rampant lack of awareness and diagnostic facilities for the disease in the country. Patients afflicted with the condition need life-long treatment, and in the absence of any state-sponsored programme, their families struggle with the exorbitant treatment costs.

Four-year-old Aditya (seen with father Manoj) was admitted to Wadia hospital on March 29 in a critical state of pneumonia. The family has spent over Rs 50,000 in less than a week on his treatment. Pic/Naveen Nair