India’s first ‘Harlequin baby’ dies after two days of birth

Nagpur: India’s first Harlequin baby, born in Nagpur, breathed her last at Lata Mangeshkar Hospital on Monday evening.

The doctors treating her have confirmed her death. She had been facing problems in breathing was put on ventilator since Sunday morning.

The specially challenged child was shown to her 23-year-old mother only this afternoon in presence of a psychiatrist.

In medical parlance, this condition is called Harelquin Ichthyosis- a highly severe congenital disorder.

Weighing 1.8 kg, the baby girl was born without an external layer of skin and her internal organs were visible with no ears and was completely blind.

Also Read: India’s first ‘Harlequin Baby’ born in Nagpur

The cause of death was Sepsis, which eventually led to cardiac and respiratory arrests, DNA reported.

Born around 12.45 a.m as the first child to a farmer-couple from Wadi, the child grabbed the attention as it was described as the country’s first, a female infant with a severe genetic disorder reported in India.

One such child Nusrit Shaheen was born in 1984 to a Pakistani woman and four of her children had the same disorder and succumbed at an early age.