The 1st Middle East CF Conference Muscat, Oman

The First Middle East Cystic Fibrosis Conference, organized by the Middle East Cystic Fibrosis Association, in collaboration with the College of Medicine and Health Sciences-SQU, and Oman Respiratory Society, will be held in Al Bustan Palace Hotel, Muscat, from 2 to 3 February 2017, under the patronage of HE Dr. Ali bin Talib Al Hinai, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Health for Planning. Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disease that affects many organs in the body and the child will be affected only if both of his/her parents carry the abnormal mutation (CFTR). The symptoms of the disease appear early in the infant life in the form of failure to gain weight and chronic diarrhea. Also, it affects the respiratory system where the affected child will have repeated attacks of respiratory infection and blocking of his air passages with sticky mucus secretions that will lead to severe compromise of his breathing and early death if it is not diagnosed and treated on time. It was thought in the past that this disease only affects Caucasians and very rarely other races including Arabs; but with the advancement of knowledge in the region and the presence of specialized pediatric respiratory doctors, it was clear that cystic fibrosis does affect Arab nations and other Middle Eastern people. Therefore, it was imperative to have collaboration between the regional experts, physicians, and other allied health professionals in helping to manage these affected patients. For this purpose, the Middle East Cystic Fibrosis Association was formed in 2016 after a meeting was held in Istanbul, Turkey, attended by Dr. Hussein Al Kindy representing the Sultanate of Oman, as well as representatives from the KSA, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Palestine, Turkey, Iran, Armenia, Pakistan, and the UAE, and it was decided at that meeting to hold the first scientific conference for cystic fibrosis in the Middle East in Muscat. This conference will have 22 international and regional expert speakers in the field of cystic fibrosis coming from the USA, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Turkey, KSA, Qatar, Iran, Palestine, and UAE, as well as from the Sultanate of Oman. We expect to have more than 150 delegates from inside and outside the sultanate including physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals. The program contains many sessions covering many areas as well as specialized workshops for dieticians, physiotherapists, and specialist