The four sisters at their home in Kendrapara. Telegraph picture

Kendrapara, July 29: Four young sisters from the family of a poor daily-wage earner are all suffering from arare genetic neurological disease, putting the medical fraternity here in a tizzy.

The siblings — Anusaya (22), Ranjulata (20), Mili (18) and Kuni (16) — have all been rendered immobile by the debilitating disease — muscular dystrophy.

“I am poor. But I am trying hard to support my physically-challenged daughters,” said Maheswar Sahu, a resident of Dhumat village, about 30 km from here.

It’s a rare muscular and paralytic ailment that may be a genetic disorder, said health officials.

The siblings are afflicted with the incurable muscular dystrophy disease. It’s a congenital disease and is the first-ever detected case of the disease in Kendrapara district, Manoj Kumar Behera, the additional district medical officer, told The Telegraph.

“It’s quite a rare disease and its incidence is hardly one per one lakh children. It owes its roots to hereditary and genealogical lineage,” he said. The disease is largely incurable. This disease has a debilitating effect on the muscles and joints. Those afflicted with this disorder also suffer from cardiac ailment, which often turns fatal.

The girls from Dhumat are from a very poor family background with their farm-labourer father shouldering the burden of treating them. The district health department had referred the case to the state health department and S.C.B. Medical College & Hospital at Cuttack for better diagnosis and treatment, added Behera.