Rare Genetic Disease Threatens Moroccan "Children of the Moon"

Xeroderma pigmentosum is a rare genetic disease whose ophthalmic involvement is dominated by tumor formations of the eyelids, conjunctiva and cornea. Those affected by this genetic disease, often called "children of the moon", can only go out at sunset.

A report by the French media, France 24, on this rare disease, presents the martyrdom of these "children of the moon" in Morocco. Fatima Zahra, one of them, still bears on her face the two burn marks of the rare disease, this serious allergy to ultraviolet rays, which exposes her to severe sunburns and even cancer. "I didn’t always do what I had to do. I liked to go out and be like the other children. It was only later that I adapted to my situation," the young girl reports.

Like Fatima Zahra, more than 1,000 children would be affected by this rare disease, the same media indicates. Fatima El Fatoiki, a dermatologist at the Casablanca hospital, says that in North Africa, the frequency of this disease is 10 times higher than in Europe. "It is a hereditary disease. In Morocco, we have a very high prevalence of the disease, because of consanguinity. In an Arab Muslim country where there are consanguineous marriages, this disease can only occur."

Without proper protection, a child victim of this disease cannot exceed a life expectancy of more than 20 years, the same source specifies. In Morocco, many people cannot afford the equipment adapted to their situation. They are now asking for better care from the Moroccan state.