Baby with rare genetic disorder born in Multan

MULTAN: A baby boy was born with ‘Congenital Ichthyosis’, a neonatal skin disease, at Nishtar Hospital, Multan late Wednesday.

An official at the hospital said the skin, mouth and lips of the baby were abnormal owing to the disease. He added no known cause of the disease had been documented so far around the globe. “The mortality rate of the babies suffering from this disease is very high internationally,” he said.



The official maintained, “The disease named Ichthyosis is derived from two Greek words meaning ‘fish’ and ‘disease’.” “Ichthyosis is a dermatological disease in which body of the patient has thick, scaly skin.” He pointed out the Ichthyosis encompasses a variety of genetical disorders marked by abnormal epidermal differentiation.

“The neonatal period is critical for such patients with a majority of complications arising out of impaired barrier function,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 19^th, 2017.