A boy who is one of only seven in the world with a genetic mutation appears to have been cured after spending two months sealed away in a bubble chamber, the Daily Mail reported.
Rhys Harris, 7, has a genetic mutation called NEMO, or Nuclear Factor Kappa B Essential Modulator mutation, which causes recurrent bacterial infections and abnormalities to the hair, teeth, nails, sweat glands, cranial-facial structure and other body parts.
After Rhys was diagnosed with tuberculosis, his parents, Kevin and Dawn Harris, allowed doctors to seal the boy in a space-age airtight chamber, according to the Daily Mail.
After Rhys' entire immune system was killed off by chemotherapy, he underwent a bone marrow transplant to put a new immune system into his young body.
No one, including his parents, was allowed to touch him while Rhys was in the bubble chamber. Doctors thought Rhys would have to stay in the isolated room for as long as eight months.
But after just two months, he was strong enough to return to his home near Newbridge, South Wales. He had to wear a mask, however, to protect him from illness.
By February he no longer needed the mask. And this week the family was told that Rhys is free of NEMO, according to the report.
Click here to see pictures of Rhys and for more on this report from the Daily Mail.
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