Baffled doctors are trying to unravel the mystery of an Indian village boasting more than 220 sets of twins born to just 2,000 families. Experts who have visited the remote tropical village of Kodinhi, in Kerala, have been left scratching their heads over the phenomenon that has seen almost six times as many twins born than the global average. In 2008 alone 15 pairs of twins were born in the village out of 300 healthy deliveries and this year is expected to top that number. In the last five years alone up to 60 pairs of twins have been born – with the rate of twins increasing year-on-year.
Local doctor and twin enthusiast Dr Krishnan Sribiju has been studying the medical marvel of Kodinhi for the past two years. Although 220 sets of twins have been officially registered in the village Dr Sribiju believes the real number to be far higher. ‘In my medical opinion there are around 300 to 350 twins within the village boundaries of Kodinhi,’ he said. ‘What is fascinating is the increasing numbers of twins with each passing year, so much so that I feel in the past ten years the number of twins in Kodinhi has doubled.’