Albinism

Subject: Science and tech

Context:

International Albinism Awareness Day is observed every year on June 13 to highlight the rights of those born with albinism and increase awareness of the genetic condition. “Made to Shine” the chosen theme of the year celebrates the achievements of those who have albinism.

Concept:

• Albinism is a rare disease characterized by a lack of melanin pigment in skin, hair and eyes.
• Those with albinism are vulnerable to sun exposure, something that increases chances of skin cancer and severe visual impairment.
• In India, there are around 200,000 who have albinism. The Union government is yet to conduct a census to account for those who have albinism.
• In 2013, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution that called for the prevention of discrimination against individuals with albinism.
• Albinism is also widespread among animals.

Rare diseases/Orphan disease:

• The common denominator of rare diseases is the infrequency of their occurrence in the human population.
• Often debilitating lifelong disease or disorder condition with a prevalence of 1 or less, per 1000 population is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a rare disease.