A baby with a blue body has been identified for the first time in Sri Lanka from the Anuradhapura Hospital.
Giving details about this, the specialist at the neonatal unit of the hospital, Dr. M.R.S.U.C. Ranawaka, says that the disease has been identified as a complex genetic disease called Congenital Methemoglobinemia.
This disease occurs due to the lack of oxygen in the child’s blood system, and the doctor says that the baby was treated by giving the baby oxygen for three days as needed, and that the baby is currently doing well.
He also states that the blood samples of this baby were thoroughly tested under the supervision of Professor Vajira Disanayake of the Colombo Specialist Medical Unit and confirmed that it was the disease in question. He says that this disease affects only one in a hundred thousand children in the world.
Although it is said that this disease is caused by consanguineous marriages, the doctor also stated that the child’s parents are not related in any way.