Villupuram (TN): In conformity with his elder brother's problem, a seven-day-old baby boy from a village in this district is also reportedly suffering from a rare medical condition which literally sets him on fire.
The condition, Spontaneous Human Combustion, is a rare ailment and doctors at the local Government Hospital, where the baby is under observation, is examining if it is genetic.
His elder brother, Rahul, suffered from the same problem when he was about two and a half months old in 2013. After treatment at the Kilpauk Medical College Hospital in Chennai that year, he was discharged and had reportedly not suffered from the condition again.
"Now Rahul's new-born brother is also having burn injuries, and we are shocked about the phenomenon which is curable," said a doctor at the Government hospital in Mundiyampakkam in the district.
Hospital officials said Rahul had only 10 degree burns while his brother is having "minor burn injuries" in his foot. The flames on the body could have been caused by gas excreted by the baby through skin holes, officials said.
"There is family history now, though no other members of Rahul's family had the problem" officials added.
"The baby is under observation," doctors said.
