18 kids born blind in three months in Bihar district

But there is a ray of hope for parents of the children as American eye specialist M. Marlin will visit Ara, district headquarters of Bhojpur, to study and examine the rare case.

Dr S.K. Kedia, a local eye specialist, who was first consulted by parents of most of the children born blind, said: "I come across one or two children being born blind in four to five years but 18 such children in three months was something unheard for me."

"I sent the DNA samples of the children to the Madurai-based Arvind Eye Hospital for help but there was no significant progress," Kedia said over telephone.

The hospital's senior doctor P. Vijaylakshmi informed Marlin, who agreed to visit Ara to study and examine the blind children.

"We have requested the parents of the children to come to Ara Jan 18 for examination by Marlin and other experts," Kedia said. 

The team of experts will also visit villages Bihiya, Sahpur and Barehara, where the children were born, to study the environment.

The Bhojpur district health officials said they have sent a report about the children to the state health department. "We expect a high-level team to visit the district in this connection," an official said.