Mermaid baby given less than a month to live

PHUKET: ‘Nichipa’, the Burmese infant born with ‘mermaid syndrome’ in Phuket earlier this month, is still fighting for her life in Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Hospital in Haad Yai.

However, doctors said they did not expect her to survive much longer.

Her kidneys remained underdeveloped and her body had stopped expelling waste through the artificial waste orifice created for her, doctors said.

Pediatrician Dr Supaporn Dissaneevet said the baby has not passed water for four days now even though she has been drinking milk.

Her body is swollen and it is highly unlikely that she will survive beyond a month, Dr Supaporn said.

— Atchaa Khamlo