Fear over outbreak of Michael Jackson's skin condition in Nigeria

Lagos– The Nigerian Ministry of Health has warned of a yet inexplicable outbreak of vitiligo, a condition that causes depigmentation of sections of skin making the sufferer appear lighter skinned.

Late pop star, Michael Jackson, was the most famous victim of the condition. His case was so bad that by the time the illness had fully done its damage, the musician became a white woman.

In Nigeria, medical officials initially ignored the symptoms evident on my patients. The official opinion was that such people, who had suddenly become light-toned, were using bleaching creams, pills, or injections. But when the disease began to affect famous people who would know better than to use cancer-causing skin-bleaching creams, the Ministry of Health decided to look deeper into the problem.

So far, the Ministry has determined that the illness is most prevalent amongst young people, especially those still in University. It also appears to affect both men and women, but women seem to be more susceptible to it, perhaps because they are the weaker sex.

How the disease spreads has not yet been discovered, but health officials have noticed a strong correlation between lace-front weave and sufferers. Based on this, young Nigerian women are being urged to enquire about the health of the owner of the Brazilian hair they attach to their heads, as it is possible that they are getting vitiligo through lace-front.

- Ngozi A