KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 — Early detection and immediate medical intervention remain paramount in managing Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA), an autoimmune condition that can affect children as young as eight months old, a medical expert said.
However, low public awareness of the condition often results in delayed diagnosis, potentially leading to irreversible joint damage in affected children, according to Sunway Medical Centre, Sunway City’s (SMC) paediatric rheumatologist Dr Cham Weng Tarng.
“JIA is an autoimmune condition that affects children below the age of 16. The youngest patient we have seen was in late infancy, and the disease can affect any joint in the body,” he told Bernama in an interview at SMC.
