A 5-year-old girl in Taiwan has often smelled fishy since she was more than 1 year old.
No matter how she washes it, it can’t be washed off, and it has been proven ineffective after exhausting all kinds of fragrances.
Her classmates disliked her for not loving cleanliness. After a doctor’s examination, it was found that the little girl suffered from “fish odour syndrome” caused by a congenital genetic defect.
Genetic Problems
According to Niu Daoming, the chief physician of the Pediatric Department of Taipei Rong Zong, the little girl should be the first diagnosed case in Taiwan. “Fish-odour Syndrome” (Fish-odour Syndrome) is a recessive genetic disease.
Due to the defect of the first chromosome, the liver lacks a certain enzyme and cannot metabolize the trimethylamine in the body, and the trimethylamine accumulates in the body. It will produce a smell like rancid fish, which is constantly emitted from the sweat glands, breath, and urine.
Dr Niu pointed out that fish, egg yolks, offal and beans are the foods most likely to produce trimethylamine after eating. Since the cause is caused by congenital genes, Niu Daoming said that unless there is a breakthrough in gene therapy in the future, the problem of the little girl cannot be fundamentally solved.