Health: Girl Born With 26 Fingers and Toes in Unusual Medical Case
The Evangelist.com.ng edition, Wednesday, December 27, 2023. Admin
A girl has been born with 26 fingers and toes in India, in an unusual occurrence.
The baby—born at the Kaman community health center in Deeg district of Rajasthan on Sunday—has seven fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. Her family believe she may be an incarnation of a Hindu goddess, Indian news outlet Ary News reported.
However, the baby’s extra fingers and toes are a result of a genetic condition called polydactyly. It is one of the most-common hand abnormalities present at birth, but, usually, only one hand is affected, making this particular case quite rare. Approximately one out of every 500 to 1,000 children have the condition, per the Boston Children’s Hospital.
“There is no harm or side effect of this condition on the body,” Dr. B.S. Soni from the Kaman community health center told Ary News.
The condition varies across different ethnicities. Asian and white children are more likely to have an extra thumb, the Boston Children’s Hospital reports, while black children will usually have an additional little finger.
