Brazilian Doctors Use Sterilized Tilapia Fish Skin to Treat Burn Victims

Doctors here are testing the skin of the popular fish as a bandage for second- and third-degree burns.

The innovation arose from an unmet need. Animal skin has long been used in the treatment of burns in developed countries.

But Brazil lacks the human skin, pig skin, and artificial alternatives that are widely available in the US.

They are covered in fish skin — specifically strips of sterilized tilapia.

In this historic city by the sea in northeast Brazil, burn patients look as if they've emerged from the waves.