International Albinism Awareness Day-2025: June 13

Why in News?

• International Albinism Awareness Day is celebrated every year on June 13.
• This day was established by the United Nations to highlight the importance of humanity and biodiversity.

History:

• In the year 2013, the Human Rights Council adopted a resolution against discrimination and attacks related to albinism for the first time.
• On 18 December 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared June 13 as International Albinism Awareness Day, and its first event was held in 2015.
• The purpose of this day is to dispel myths related to albinism and mobilize global support for the safety, health, education, equal rights of the victims.

About Albinism:

• Albinism is a genetic disorder in which the pigment called melanin is not produced in the body partially or completely.
• It affects the colour of a person's skin, hair and eyes.
• It is not an infectious disease, but it occurs from birth.
• This disorder is caused by a defect in genes such as OCA (Oculocutaneous Albinism) and OA (Ocular Albinism).
• Due to lack of melanin, a person's skin is very fair, hair is white or light coloured and eyes are light blue or pink.

Types of Albinism

1. Oculocutaneous Albinism (OCA): Affects the skin, hair and eyes. This is the most common type.
2. Ocular Albinism (OA): Mainly affects the eyes; skin and hair can be of normal colour.
3. There are also rare types such as Hermansky–Pudlak Syndrome and Chediak–Higashi Syndrome, in which there are other health problems along with albinism.

Symptoms

• Extremely fair skin and hair
• Easily burns in the sun
• Eye problems:
  • Vision impairment
  • Nystagmus (involuntary eye movement)
  • Photophobia (irritation from sunlight or bright light)
  • Strabismus (slanted eyes)

Genetics

• Albinism occurs in an autosomal recessive pattern:
• If both parents are carriers, the child has a 25% chance of having albinism in each pregnancy.
• It can occur in any race, ethnicity or region.