A black Brazilian Mother (Nature can be so tricky)
A black mother has baffled scientists after giving birth to three albino children.
Parents
Rosemere Fernandes de Andrade and her partner Joao are dark-skinned
Afro-Brazilians, yet three of their five children are albinos.
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Genetics professor Valdir Balbino of the Federal
University of Pernambuco said this is a very rare occurrence considering the
parents and two other children are black.
Both
parents must carry the albinism gene in order to produce a child with
albinism. Where both parents are carriers of the albinism gene, there
is a one in four chance that a child will be born with the condition.
The family live in the slum of Olinda in north-east Brazil and the children have faced taunts by fellow pupils at their school.
The
condition affects around one in 17,000 people. Those with albiinism do
not produce enough melanin pigment, which gives colour to the skin, hair
and eyes and protects the body from the sun's rays.
They often suffer from extreme short-sightedness and a severe sensitivity to light.
Mrs Fernandes, 27,says she struggles to pay the medical bills for daughters Ruth, 10, and
Esthefany, eight, as well as five-year-old son Kauan.
She must also buy expensive sun-block and extra clothing to protect their skin.
The mother of five has also been challenged by security guards who insisted she could not be the children's mother.
Mrs Fernandes, of Olinda, said: 'I'm afraid of skin cancer because I can't afford the protection they need.'
A
spokesman from Albinism Fellowship said: 'It can be hard for parents
when they are faced with a baby who is much fairer than either parent.
'In
most cases children with albinism are born to parents who have
no previous experience of the condition. From the first day of their new
baby's life, the parents often find themselves on a steep learning
curve.'
For more information and support for those affected by the condition visit Albinism.org.uk
