{"id":7914,"date":"2019-02-05T09:10:50","date_gmt":"2019-02-05T09:10:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/laforcedmd.com\/?p=7914"},"modified":"2022-05-03T18:13:01","modified_gmt":"2022-05-03T18:13:01","slug":"zebra-striped-ribbon-symbol-for-rare-diseases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/laforcedmd.com\/en\/zebra-striped-ribbon-symbol-for-rare-diseases\/","title":{"rendered":"The zebra-striped ribbon as a symbol for rare diseases"},"content":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0zebra is used as a symbol for rare diseases since about 1940.\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n

This comes from a quote by Dr. Theodore Woodward: “When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras.”<\/em> and “When you hear hoofbeats behind you, don’t expect to see a zebra.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is the metaphor Dr. Woodward used to teach students basic concepts about the diagnosis of disease: when examining a patient\u2019s symptoms, it\u2019s better to think of a horse rather than a zebra. It\u2019s a fact that horses are hoofed animals more commonly encountered than zebras, so you should automatically assume that if you hear the sound of hooves, it should be a horse, not a zebra, right?<\/p>\n

The national awareness day is on February 29, a date that\u2019s only on the calendar every four years. (It\u2019s moved to February 28 on non-leap years.)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The day was started by the European Organisation for Rare Diseases and is now recognized globally. The symbol for rare disease awareness is a zebra-striped ribbon.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Statistics and facts<\/h2>\n

Here are a few statistics and facts to illustrate the breadth of the rare disease problem worldwide.<\/h4>\n