A black mother has baffled scientists after giving birth to three albino children.

Parents Rosemere Fernandes de Andrade and her partner Joao are dark-skinned Afro-Brazilians, yet three of their five children are albinos.


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Genetics professor Valdir Balbino of the Federal University of Pernambuco said this is a very rare occurrence considering the parents and two other children are black.

The family live in the slum of Olinda in north-east Brazil and the children have faced taunts by fellow pupils at their school.

The condition affects around one in 17,000 people. Those with albiinism do not produce enough melanin pigment, which gives colour to the skin, hair and eyes and protects the body from the sun's rays.

They often suffer from extreme short-sightedness and a severe sensitivity to light.

Mrs Fernandes, 27,says she struggles to pay the medical bills for daughters Ruth, 10, and Esthefany, eight, as well as five-year-old son Kauan.

She must also buy expensive sun-block and extra clothing to protect their skin.

The mother of five has also been challenged by security guards who insisted she could not be the children's mother.

Mrs Fernandes, of Olinda, said: 'I'm afraid of skin cancer because I can't afford the protection they need.'