The Portuguese Society of Internal Medicine (SPMI) has launched a campaign drawing attention to how late autoimmune diseases are often diagnosed, HealthNews reports. The campaign's central message is that the immune system "attacked the wrong person," according to the outlet. HealthNews published its report on the campaign on Thursday, 22 October 2026.
Autoimmune conditions occur when the body's immune defences turn against its own tissues rather than foreign threats. The SPMI campaign uses that idea to explain the conditions to the public and to highlight the risk of them being identified only after significant delay. According to HealthNews, the initiative is aimed squarely at the problem of late diagnosis.
The reporting does not specify which autoimmune diseases the campaign covers, how it will be distributed, or what figures, if any, it cites on diagnostic delays. It also does not include statements from SPMI officials beyond the campaign's framing of the immune system's mistaken target.
Late diagnosis is the focus the SPMI has chosen to emphasise, and HealthNews frames the campaign as an alert rather than a clinical guidance document. The available reporting offers no detail on planned follow-up activity or on whether the campaign is tied to any screening effort.
Watch for further announcements from the SPMI on the campaign's scope and any data it releases on how long autoimmune patients wait for a diagnosis in Portugal.
