Docs in tizzy over ’combustible’ baby

Mangalore Today News Network

Chennai, Jan 19, 2015, DHNS: In an apparent hereditary phenomena, a seven-day-old infant in Tamil Nadu suddenly went up in flames, leaving doctors treating him mystified.

His family said the infant’s older sibling also had a similar experience as fire flames started to leap from his body before doctors could successfully treat him.  The infant was rushed to the government-run Kilpauk Medical College in Chennai, where doctors attributed the ‘catching fire’ condition to a rare disease that produces concentrated combustible gas from inside the body through the tiny gaps in the skin.

A team of specialist doctors headed by Dr Sathiyamurthy has been monitoring the condition of the baby, who was brought to the hospital from his native Villupuram district on Sunday.  Doctors are examining if the “unique” phenomenon has any genetic basis.

The older brother of the infant, Rahul, had the same condition when he was just two-and-a-half month old in 2013. He was discharged after two months of treatment at KMC and had no recurrence of the condition since.  Hospital sources revealed that while Rahul suffered ten degree burns, his infant brother has some minor burn injuries to his foot.

They added that the combustible gas leaking from skin hole could cause varying degrees of burn injuries.