Child's skin problem is off the scale; HEALTH.

A BOY born without pores in his skin has baffled medics by developing fish scales.

Doctors believe 14-monthold Song Sheng may be suffering from a rare genetic condition that means his body cannot cool itself.

The lad - dubbed Fish Boy by locals in Jinhu, eastern China - developed scales within days of his birth.

Doctors say that because he cannot sweat or lose heat through his skin, it peels away in fish-like scales.

His family control his body temperature by laying the boy in baths of ice.

Dad Song Dehui said: "He is in a lot of pain all the time and if we don't have enough ice he gets a fever."

But doctors have told Song there is still no cure for the condition, known as Lamellar ichthyosis, which affects one in 600,000 people, Song added: "It can be treated but not cured so we are praying for a miracle or a folk medicine cure."

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Publication:	The Mirror (London, England)
Date:	Mar 2, 2010
Words:	156
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