Chennai: First it was the 50-day old Rahul who caught the attention as being a rare case of a “burning” child. He had posed a big challenge to doctors. Now, about two years later, his brother, who is just nine days old, is displaying similar qualities of suddenly catching fire.
The medical term of the symptom is Spontaneous Human Combustion (SHC).
The baby has been admitted to the Kilpauk General Hopsital with burns on his legs. Portions of the infant’s legs had caught fire.
As the doctors at the Mundiyambakkam government medical college in Villupuram struggled to save the child, succour came to him in the form of former chief minister J. Jayalalithaa.
Immediately after learning about his health condition through media reports, Ms Jayalalithaa advised health officials to refer the child to the Kilpauk hospital for further treatment.
The child, who was brought to the city on Saturday night, is undergoing treatment here. A team of experts under paediatrician Dr Sathyamurthy has been formed to monitor the child.
Two years earlier, the baby’s elder brother, Rahul, had about ten degree burns. He was discharged following treatment and has not displayed any symptoms of SHC. “We hope the second child in the family too will soon be on the road to recovery,” a doctor said.
The shocked mother, Rajeswari, is being counselled. Her second son, who was born on January 9 at Nedimozhiyanur primary health centre, caught fire on January 15 at her house.
Seeing the infant’s two feet going up in flames, she rushed him to the primary health centre. The baby was later shifted to Mundiyambakkam government medical college.
