Bangladesh treats first case of ‘tree girl’ syndrome.

A young Bangladeshi girl with bark-like warts growing on her face could be the first female ever afflicted by so-called “tree man syndrome”, doctors studying the rare condition said Tuesday.

Ten-year-old Sahana Khatun has the tell-tale gnarled growths sprouting from her chin, ear and nose, but doctors at Dhaka’s Medical College Hospital are still conducting tests to establish if she has the unusual skin disorder.

Less than half a dozen people worldwide have epidermodysplasia verruciformis but none so far have been women, said Samanta Lal Sen, the head of the hospital’s burn and plastic surgery unit.

Her father, a poor labourer from Bangladesh’s rural north, said he didn’t worry too much when the first warts appeared on his daughter’s face about four months ago.

But as the growths spread rapidly he grew concerned and brought Khatun from their village to the capital Dhaka for treatment.

“We are very poor. My daughter lost her mother when she was only six. I really hope that the doctors will remove the barks from my beautiful daughter’s face,” her father Mohammad Shahjahan told AFP.

Another of Khatun’s doctors said the young patient was displaying a milder form of the disease, and it was hoped she would make a quicker recovery than those in the more advanced stages.

The hospital has been treating one man with a serious case of the disease for the better part of a year, conducting 16 surgical procedures to remove giant warts from his hands and legs.

Huge growths weighing five kilogrammes (11 pounds) each had consumed the hands of 27-year-old Abul Bajandar, the first recorded Bangladeshi to be suffering from the disease.

His plight has captured national attention and the interest of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who promised the patient would receive treatment free of charge.

Doctors told AFP last month that for the first time in a decade, Bajandar had been able to touch his wife and daughter, and was almost ready to leave the ward.

‘Rivers Of Blood’ Flow In Dhaka, Bangladesh On Eid

The streets of Dhaka were literally flowing with blood after heavy rain on the first day of Eidul Azha.

Despite sporadic rain, which started on early Tuesday and continued through the first day of Eid and flooded many areas of the Bangladeshi capital, residents of the city went on to offer Eid prayers and sacrificed animals.

The clogged rainwater combined with the blood of sacrificial animals created a rather uncommon and
gory scene, making it look like as if streets had transformed into rivers of blood. Photos shared on Twitter and Facebook showed Dhaka streets filled with blood-stained water.

 


Although the two city corporations had designated 1,000 spots – 496 in the north and 504 in the south – for slaughtering animals, people were seen slaughtering animals in the streets in many parts the city.

Blaming the city corporations for not being able to communicate to the people about the designated spots for sacrifice, Tareq Ahmed, a resident of Shyamoli area told Dhaka Tribune that, “Last year the city corporations launched a mass campaign to encourage people to use the designated spots and that caught our eyes. I went to a spot in Mohammadpur last year, but this year, I don’t even know where the spots actually are.”

Further, residents claimed that the incident showed that the city corporations had failed to keep the city’s drainage systems functional.

Bangladesh Praises Military On Boko Haram

The Bangladesh Armed Forces yesterday praised the military for its success in combating insurgency in the country.

Bangladesh said it would adopt the same strategy in combating insurgency and criminality.

A team from Bangladesh National Defence College on a geo-strategic study tour to Nigeria visited the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin at the Defence Headquarters, Abuja.

The leader of the delegation, Rear Admiral Anwarul Islam, said the dramatic way in which the Nigerian military routed the deadly Boko Haram in the last one year was worthy of praise.

He noted that the Nigerian Armed Forces are known for their contributions to peace support operations worldwide.

Rear Admiral Islam observed that Bangladesh has a lot to learn from the Nigerian, and hailed the CDS for his leadership direction.

Admiral Islam applauded the Armed Forces for degrading the Boko Haram terrorists in the Northeast and tackling other criminalities.

He solicited cordial military bilateral relations with Nigeria.

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Bangladesh praises military on Boko Haram

ABSURD: Man With Unusual Growth Due For Surgery

A Bangladeshi father dubbed “Tree Man” for massive bark-like warts on his hands and feet will finally have surgery to remove the growths that first began appearing 10 years ago, a hospital said Sunday.

Abul Bajandar, from the southern district of Khulna, was undergoing preparations for the surgery to cut out the growths weighing at least five kilogrammes (11 pounds) that have smothered his hands and feet.

“Initially, I thought that they’re harmless,” the 26-year-old told AFP at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).

“But slowly I lost all my ability to work. There are now dozens of two to three inch roots in both my hands. And there are some small ones in my legs,” said Bajandar who was forced to quit working as a bicycle puller.

A team of doctors has been formed to perform the operation at DMCH, Bangladesh’s largest state-run hospital, which has decided to waive costs of the treatment.

Tests are underway to ensure Bajandar’s root-like warts can be removed surgically without damaging major nerves or causing any other health problems.

The massive warts, which first started appearing when he was a teenager but began spreading rapidly four years ago, have been diagnosed as epidermodysplasia verruciformis, an extremely rare genetic skin disease that makes the person susceptible to skin growths.

“Popularly it is known as tree-man disease,” DMCH director Samanta Lal Sen told AFP.

“As far as we know there are three such cases in the world including Abul Bajandar. It is the first time we have found such a rare case in Bangladesh,” he said.

Credit: Yahoo