CITY OF GHOSTS TO REPLY IF SUNLIGHT

The city of Araras in Sao Paulo, Brazil looks like a ghost town because most of its inhabitants must always stay indoors.

A total of 600 out of 800 Araras populations suffer from a strange genetic disease called Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP). This disease causes the sufferer can not stand the sun's ultraviolet rays so they should always be in the shade.

A little of their skin exposed to sunlight, it will blister and leave permanent defects. Their skin can not regenerate cells so they can not heal if injured.

Of the 600 who suffer from this strange disease, 20 is already in critical stage and has been included in the category of aggressive skin cancer.

One of the citizens of Araras who suffered from XP to severe level was Djalma Jardin. He has only one eye that can not close. He spends his days indoors because of the rare genetic disorder.

Jardin's face even looks scary due to this XP disease. She slept with plaster all over her face. "If out of the house, the sun burns me," he said.

This genetic disorder is so scary that it can make a person disabled or even died. Like Jardin whose condition is getting worse until he dies after an interview.

Deide's breeder has also lost many parts of his face with conditions that can not be cured.

"I had surgery to remove the right palate and jawbone, I had to use a prosthesis to talk," he said.

Some people who do not experience the strange conditions are wondering about what has happened to those who suffer. Some call it a sexually transmitted disease, others believe this XP is a curse from God.

Until a Brazilian genetic biologist in Sao Paulo, Carlos Menck, came to the village of Araras to conduct research. From his observations, Carlos says XP is not a contagious disease but a hereditary disease.

After running tests on all villagers, Carlos and his team found 600 out of 800 villagers carrying the XP gene.

This can be traced back to the families of the first three settlers in the village who came from Portugal.

Dermatologist Sulamita Chaibub adds, in Araras there is a concentration of people with broken genes that remain married to each other, so the genes become dominant and the disease is still developing.

Until now there is no cure for this XP. But residents were warned to completely get away from the sun. Carlos hopes this suggestion will save the lives of many Araras villagers.