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National Eosinophil Awareness Week 2023 Facebook Cover Photo

Celebrate National Eosinophil Awareness Week (May 14-20, 2023) to Show Support for Those Living With Eosinophil-associated Diseases

Press Releases

Atlanta, GA (May 4, 2023) – The American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders (APFED) will celebrate the 16th annual National Eosinophil Awareness Week (NEAW) from May 14-20, 2023. During this week, the organization will amplify its efforts to educate people about eosinophils and eosinophil-associated diseases. 

Eosinophils (pronounced “ee-oh-sin-oh-fills”) are white blood cells that are involved in many medical conditions, including infections, cancers, and allergies. If a person has too many eosinophils, without a known reason, it may indicate an eosinophil-associated disease. These diseases are further characterized depending on where in the body the eosinophils are building up and causing inflammation. Symptoms may vary depending on the disease subset. Eosinophilic disorders may affect the gastrointestinal tract, heart, sinuses, blood, lungs, bladder, connective tissue, and other parts of the body. These diseases can affect people of all ages. They are chronic and require ongoing medical care.

In 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives passed House Bill 296, an initiative spearheaded by APFED, to officially recognize the third week of May as National Eosinophil Awareness Week.

“National Eosinophil Awareness Week is a time for individuals and groups to draw attention to eosinophils and eosinophil-associated diseases, as well as the impacts of living with these conditions,” said Mary Jo Strobel, APFED’s Executive Director. “It’s also a time for our community to reflect upon and celebrate the progress we’ve made as the result of advocacy initiatives and research advancements.”

In addition to offering resources and a calendar of daily suggested activities to help communities celebrate this special week, on social media APFED is also sharing perspectives of families living with eosinophil-associated diseases and messages of support from the medical and research communities.

APFED is also spearheading efforts to have buildings and landmarks around the U.S. light up magenta in honor of National Eosinophil Awareness Week. There is a special emphasis on lightings taking place on Thursday, May 18, 2023, in recognition of World Eosinophilic Diseases Day. A list of locations that will light up is available at apfed.org/lightup. 

To learn more about eosinophil-associated diseases and ways to celebrate National Eosinophil Awareness Week, visit apfed.org/NEAW.

APFED is grateful to its education partners who are supporting their 2023 celebration of National Eosinophil Awareness Week, including Abbott, AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers SquibbTM, GlaxoSmithKline, Nutricia, Reckitt/Mead Johnson Nutrition, Sanofi, and Regeneron. 

About American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders (APFED)

Founded in 2001, the American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders (APFED) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that assists and supports patients and families affected by eosinophil-associated disorders, by providing education, creating awareness, supporting research, and promoting advocacy. To learn more, visit apfed.org. 

National Eosinophil Awareness Week 2023 Facebook Cover Photo

Make an Impact During National Eosinophil Awareness Week

What's New

Show your support for those living with eosinophil-associated diseases by joining APFED’s celebration of the 16th annual National Eosinophil Awareness Week, May 14-20, 2023.

Check out our calendar of suggested activities to E.D.U.C.A.T.E. people about eosinophil-associated diseases:

E: Educate

  • Learn about and share facts about eos disorders, include #NEAW #NEAW23 and #eosaware in your social media posts.
  • Enter our special giveaway. Details about how to enter will be posted on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter beginning on Sunday, May 14, 2023.

D: Donate

  • Encourage friends and family to make donations to support research.
  • Host a virtual or in-person fundraiser.

U: Unite

  • Become an APFED member to unite with us for ongoing change.
  • Register for EOS Connection 2023, APFED’s annual patient education conference. This year’s conference is hybrid. You can join us in Denver, CO, or online from June 30 – July 1

C: Change

  • Contact your representatives and ask them to support eosinophil-associated disease-related legislation.

A: Awareness

T: Thank

  • Send a letter, email, or text message to thank those who have helped you in your eos journey.

E: Engage

 

We’d love to see the different ways individuals and communities celebrate this special week. Please share your story and pictures of your efforts on social media, tagging APFED and including #NEAW #NEAW23 and #eosaware in your posts.

Thank you for helping us to increase awareness of eosinophil-associated diseases, and for showing support to all those who live with these conditions.

 

Education Partners

Special thanks to our Education Partners for supporting APFED’s 2023 celebration of National Eosinophil Awareness Week 2022!

2023 National Eosinophil Awareness Week Education Partners

How You Can Make an Impact During National Eosinophil Awareness Week

What's New

Mark your calendars for National Eosinophil Awareness Week, May 15-21, 2022! The third week of May was officially recognized as National Eosinophil Awareness Week in 2007 when the U.S. House of Representatives passed House Bill 296. 

We hope you will show your support for those who live with eosinophil-associated diseases and educate others about these conditions during awareness week. 

The purpose of this special week is to create awareness and educate both the general public and the medical community about eosinophil-associated diseases. 

We’ve put together a collection of suggested activities for the week to EDUCATE others. 

  • E: Educate
  • D: Donate
  • U: Unite
  • C: Change
  • A: Awareness
  • T: Thank
  • E: Engage

 

Here are a few ways you can make an impact. You can find more suggested activities at apfed.org/neaw:

  • Share facts from our collection of graphics and videos. Include #NEAW #NEAW22 and #eosaware in your social media posts.
  • Ask your local landmarks to light up magenta during awareness week. We are tracking requests nationwide, please let us know where you make requests. We posted a list of locations that will light up during the week, including Niagara Falls. Thanks to the Niagara Falls Illumination Board you can watch the special lighting live via their webcam on Wednesday, May 18 at 10:15 p.m. ET for approximately 15 minutes. If you choose to view it in person, please follow public health guidelines.
  • Light up magenta at home for eosinophil awareness all week. Search “magenta light bulb” to explore the options.
  • Purchase awareness items through our new store on Bonfire. There are t-shirts, mugs, and bags featuring the phonetic spelling of the word eosinophil, which can be a great conversation starter. A portion of the sales will support APFED’s research program.

 

Whatever you choose to do to recognize National Eosinophil Awareness Week, please share your story and pictures of your efforts on social media. Include #NEAW #NEAW22 and #eosaware in your posts.

Throughout awareness week we will also be sharing opportunities to win awareness items on social media. We will post details about how to enter the giveaways on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter beginning on Sunday, May 15, 2022. Make sure to follow us!

Education partners

Special thanks to our education partners for supporting APFED’s National Eosinophil Awareness Week 2022 celebration!

abbott

 

AstraZeneca

 

Bristol Myers Squibb

 

Ellodi Pharmaceuticals

GSK

 

 

Sanofi Regeneron

 

If your company or organization is interested in becoming an Education Partner, please contact mail@apfed.org.

 

5 Ways to Make an Impact During National Eosinophil Awareness Week

Announcements, APFED Blog, What's New

Show your support for those who live with eosinophil-associated diseases and educate others about these conditions during National Eosinophil Awareness Week – May 16-22, 2021.

The purpose of this special week is to create awareness and educate both the general public and medical community about eosinophil-associated diseases.

In 2007, the third week of May was officially recognized as National Eosinophil Awareness Week when the U.S. House of Representatives passed House Bill 296.

Here are five suggested activities to do during awareness week (and some that you can start doing now) to help educate people about these conditions:

 

 

 

  • Purchase a Heroes Bring Hope t-shirt or sweatshirt to show your support for eosinophil-associated diseases throughout the year. These exclusive items are only being sold from now through May 22, so order yours today. A portion of the sales will support APFED’s HOPE on the Horizon research program.

 

  • Paint a rock with an eosinophil-associated disease awareness message and hide it for others to find. This is a great activity for all ages. We have a special certificate you can print out to recognize your participation (a great incentive for kids)!

 

  • Print out this sign, fill in why you are #eosaware, and take a selfie while holding it up for others to see. Then post the selfie on social media and include the hashtags #NEAW and #eosaware to help other people in your network learn about eosinophil-associated diseases. (We will be encouraging people to do this on Saturday, May 22 for #SelfieSaturday, but you can do this at any time.)

 

We have even more ideas and resources to help you make an impact during National Eosinophil Awareness Week available at apfed.org/NEAW. Whatever you choose to do, make sure to share your support for awareness week and eosinophilic disorders on social media and include #NEAW and #eosaware in your posts.

Throughout awareness week we will also be sharing opportunities to win awareness items on social media. We will post details about how to enter the giveaways on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter beginning on Sunday, May 16, 2021. Make sure to follow us!

 

Education partners

Special thanks to our education partners for supporting APFED’s National Eosinophil Awareness Week 2021 celebration!

 

AstraZeneca

 

Bristol Myers Squibb

GSK

 

 

Sanofi Genzyme Regeneron

 

Takeda

 

Eos asthma toolkit, eosasthma.org

New Resource for Eosinophilic Asthma

Announcements, APFED Blog, Education, What's New

Eosinophilic asthma is a subtype of asthma that is difficult to control with traditional asthma medications. With this type of asthma, the numbers of eosinophils – a type of white blood cell – are increased in blood, lung tissue, and mucus coughed up from the respiratory tract. The whole respiratory tract is involved in airflow obstruction from the sinuses to the small airways. It is sometimes also called type 2 (Th2) asthma, eos asthma, or e-asthma. 

To help people learn about eosinophilic asthma and how it is diagnosed, treated, and managed, the  American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders (APFED) and Allergy & Asthma Network, both national 501(c)(3) patient advocacy organizations, developed and launched a new online toolkit, eosasthma.org. 

Eos asthma toolkit, visit eosasthma.org

In the United States, it is estimated that nearly 25 million people have some type of asthma; it has been estimated that as many as 10% of these people have severe asthma. Research has shown a correlation between too many eosinophils in the blood and the future risk and severity of asthma attacks.

A survey of people with eosinophilic asthma conducted by APFED showed that those who have this condition wanted to learn more about their disease. Further, they indicated a preference for learning through digital resources. Eosasthma.org was created to address these needs. 

The information-rich site helps people to better understand eosinophilic asthma and diagnosis and treatment options, explore practical strategies to help improve quality of life, and access a wealth of resources available to those with eosinophilic asthma.

“Educational resources such as eosasthma.org help patients to make informed decisions about their healthcare,” said Mary Jo Strobel, Executive Director of APFED. “We are excited to partner with the Allergy & Asthma Network on the launch of this website, which was developed to help patients and families better understand eosinophilic asthma and how to manage this chronic condition.” 

“Recent medical breakthroughs are transforming how eosinophilic asthma is treated,” says Tonya Winders, President and CEO of Allergy & Asthma Network. “It’s critical that patients and caregivers have a clear understanding of the disease so they can work with their doctor to better manage it. That’s where eosasthma.org comes in. We are proud to partner with APFED to share this valuable patient resource.”

Please check out and share the site to:

  • Learn about this severe subtype of asthma, a chronic lung disease
  • Read about eos asthma diagnosis and treatment options
  • Explore practical strategies to help improve quality of life with eos asthma
  • Read answers to questions commonly asked by patients and caregivers
  • Review information about the specialists that help treat and manage eos asthma
  • Learn terms commonly used when discussing eos asthma
  • Learn about eos asthma research and clinical trials
  • Explore additional resources, including ones to connect with others, and tap into a supportive community

The eosasthma.org website was created thanks to a grant provided by Sanofi Genzyme and Regeneron; we are grateful for their support. We are also grateful for our medical reviewers who volunteered their time to review the content for accuracy, including Purvi Parikh, MD, Marissa Shams, MD, and Michael E. Wechsler, MD, MMSc.

To explore this new resource, visit eosasthma.org.