Zambian boy gets treatment in Haifa for rare skin disease
Harlequin Syndrome involves the absence of important elements in the upper layer of the skin.
By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICHzambia boy 224.88(photo credit: Courtesy)
A toddler from Zambia in Africa was discharged Sunday from Rambam Medical Center in Haifa after being treated for three months for a very rare congenital skin condition: Harlequin Syndrome, which affects only two Israeli children and involves the absence of important elements in the upper layer of the skin.
The sufferer has vivid patches on the skin that give the disease its name, which alludes to patchwork clowns' outfits. Prof. Eli Sprecher, a world expert in the disease at Rambam's Dermatology Department, was contacted even though Zambia has no embassy or even a consulate in Israel.
The three-year-old boy, named Emanuel, was sent to Rambam, where he received special medications and interdisciplinary care from the Otolaryngology, Pediatrics and Ophthalmology departments. He was given a six-month supply of medication and invited to return in the summer for additional treatment, even though he now feels much better.
"I hope that then we can visit Jerusalem," his mother, Elizabeth, said upon her son's discharge.
