Welcome to the Pan African Thoracic Society (PATS) website!

The Pan African Thoracic Society is a major professional organization representing Lung Health in Africa. Respiratory non-communicable diseases including asthma and COPD are key challenges for health in Africa and a major cause of morbidity and mortality in African population. Africa carries a disproportionally high burden of respiratory morbidity and mortality relative to the population size. Infectious diseases such as Pneumonia, Tuberculosis and HIV associated respiratory illnesses are amongst the commonest acute respiratory illnesses in African population.

PATS is a respiratory society made up of healthcare professionals from across the continent and beyond. Formed in 2003, we now have over 1,000 members from 65 countries.  

PATS aims to promote lung health in Africa, the continent most afflicted by morbidity and death from respiratory diseases, by promoting education, research, advocacy, optimal care and the development of African capacity to address respiratory challenges in the continent. 

PATS is a registered Non-Profit Organisation (221-195-NPO).

We continuously partner with other regional and international respiratory organisations in global efforts to improve lung health.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus called 'SARS-CoV-2' (previously referred to as 2019-nCoV).

The World Health Organization (WHO) has compiled further resources in order to provide updated information as clinical findings become available.

To see updated information regarding confirmed cases globally access the WHO Dashboard or the COVID-19 Dashboard by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

PATS and the European Respiratory Society (ERS) will be cohosting a series of paediatric webinars during 2021. The webinars will take place on a quarterly basis.

The aim of the series is to provide up-to-date information on the daily practice of paediatric pulmonologists, respiratory scientists and allied health professionals, in order to improve their knowledge-base, and, ultimately, to improve the overall quality of patient care, both in the high income and low-middle income country contexts.

Access to an effective, affordable COVID-19 vaccine is an urgent issue for African countries.  An effective vaccine is currently being rolled out in the UK, USA and Canada, but not in any African country.  We need strong advocacy to ensure that African populations have timely access to an affordable COVID-19 vaccine.