'300 mn suffering from asthma globally'

New Delhi, April 16 (IANS) Around 300 million people in the world are suffering from asthma and the figure can rise to 400 million by 2025, says the World Allergy Organisation (WAO).

"Thirty to 40 percent of the world's population suffers from allergic diseases and the prevalence is escalating to epidemic proportions," Ruby Pawankar, WAO president, said in a statement as the World Allergy Week kicked off Monday.

"The increase in multiple allergies occurring in a single patient is making the global burden even more complex, and an integrated approach to diagnosis and treatment of allergies is required," Marek Kowalski, chair of the World Allergy Week Steering Committee, said in the statement.

In the statement, WAO called for integrated approaches to patient care.

WAO is an international alliance of 89 regional and national allergy, asthma and immunology societies.