Strange disease, boys will die if they catch a cold

Sebastian Romero, living in the United States, has had a bone marrow transplant to cure a rare disease, but it takes two years to build a new one.

Sebastian Romero , 10 months old, lives in the United States, diagnosed with severe combined immunodeficiency disease (SCID) from a few weeks old. This is rare. This boy does not have an immune system, must stay indoors to avoid infection and see a doctor constantly.

When he was a few days old, Sebastian was diagnosed with abnormally low numbers of T and B cells . T and B cells have the function of identifying penetrating bacteria and rapidly multiplying to fight these germs, preventing infection.

The rate of patients with this rare disease is 1 / 40,000-75,000 children.The disease caused by mutations on the X chromosome occurs only in boys. According to doctors, the normal number of T cells in the body ranges from 500-1,200 / millimetric block.

Sebastian's body is building a new immune system after a bone marrow transplant.(Photo: Daily Mail).

Sebastian's parents had to disinfect the entire house, install 5 air filters and let the boy stay in an isolation room. During the first 3 months of life, Sebastian and his mother lived in isolation from their families, while caregivers Kalya, 5 and Abraham, 8 years old. In order to prevent Sebastian's infection, the mother only left the room to get food and did not dare to hug the older children.

Currently, is the only way to cure the SCID disease Sebastian has. However, having a suitable donor is not easy. According to doctors, if a child has a bone marrow transplant in the first 3 months, the success rate is 90%. However, if the child is transplanted after 3 months, the success rate is still 50%, because the body has been exposed to the bacteria. Through the test, the mother has the right marrow to match Sebastian.

Before a bone marrow transplant, he underwent 10 days of chemotherapy to remove all harmful blood cells. The marrow transplant has been successful but it takes up to 2 years for this boy's body to build a new immune system.

After a bone marrow transplant test, the number of T cells in Sebastian's body increased to 437, and there were 36 B cells. The doctors said Sebastian had to have at least 600 new T cells to be able to get out.

SCID disease was known from the 1970s and 1980s, when little David Vetter, USA, lived for 12 years in a sterile plastic bubble. After that, the boy received a bone marrow transplant from his sister but his body was grafted. Vetter died of a bacterial monocytosis.