Many times the parents do not know that they are carriers of the defective gene. As a matter of fact, one in 29 Americans, more than ten million people, are unknowing, symptom-free carriers of the mutated gene. Because sterility is often associated with the full blown disease, usually each parent of a cystic fibrosis child has a normal copy of the gene and a defective one. As their genes merge in the formation of the child, the infant has a significant risk of getting two bad genes and the disease. Such tests are particularly recommended for relatives of patients with Cystic Fibrosis.
Cystic fibrosis occurs in all ethnic groups.
However, it is most common in Caucasians and much less common among African Americans and Asians. As a result, most treatment efforts are geared towards improving the clearance of secretions in the lungs and preventing and treating infections. Other treatments aim to thin the viscid mucus and to control the inflammation. In 1993 a mucus thinning drug called Pulmozyme, was approved for treatment and shown to reduce the number of respiratory infections and to improve lung function. Antibiotics are directed toward the control of specific bacterial organisms.