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Three members of the same family have been dubbed the 'tree men' because of a rare disease causing massive bark-like warts on their hands and feet.

Eight-year-old Ruhul Amin, his father Tajul Islam, 40, and his brother Bashed Ali, 55, have been diagnosed with the skin disorder epidermodysplasia verruciformis.

The condition is caused by infection with the human papillomavirus and can create widespread skin eruptions, including wart-like lesions and reddish-brown pigmented plaques. 

Until now, there were only three known cases in the world of the genetic disorder.

Tajul Islam, 45, and his son Ruhul Amin, eight, are now being treated at theDhaka Medical College and Hospital 

Bashed Ali, 50, holds up his damaged hands which have been ravaged by the 'tree man' disease

It comes after a series of stories on 'Tree Man' Abdul Bajandar, whose severe case of the disease has made headlines around the world recently. 

The family of three men are now being treated at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital in Bangladesh, where Mr Bajandar, 26, is also currently recovering from surgery.

He was admitted last month for an operation to remove the 11lb of growths that first began appearing 10 years ago.

And after tests confirmed the warts were not cancerous, he was given the all-clear for the life-changing surgery.

Eight-year-old Ruhul Amin's long nails and lesions can be seen as he holds them up in a Bangladesh hospital

His crusted feet are covered in painful cracks and sores caused by the rare genetic skin disorder

The rare inherited skin disorder means the painful gnarled growths sprout from his hands and feet 

The family in this new case - dubbed 'tree men' by locals - arrived at the hospital yesterday. The eldest, Bashed Ali, is most severely affected by the condition - which forced doctors to amputate his feet. 

But the signs are also bad for eight-year-old Ruhul,who is is already showing significant signs of the disease on his feet, with painful cracks and growths.

His hands are also displaying early signs of the condition, doctors warned. 

Samanta Lal Sen, who is in charge of Mr Bajandar's treatment, said he would look at the new cases. 

'We shall examine them after forming a medical board,' he said. 

The only other known cases of the disease include an Indonesian villager with massive warts all over his body.

He underwent a string of operations in 2008 to remove them. 

Dede Koswara, whose story captivated the world, died, in January - although his death was not related to the disease.

In 2008 the Discovery Channel told the story of Mr Koswara. 

In the programme, he returned home from hospital after having six kilo warts surgically removed from his body. 

An American doctor had previously said the warts were the result of severe Human Pappiloma Virus (HPV) infection and doctors thought his type was the worst in the world. 

The father-of-two first noticed the warts on his body after cutting his knee as a teenager.

He was later sacked from his job and shunned by neighbours when the branch-like growths covered much of his body and stopped him from working. 

Mr Koswara had previously beenforced to take part in a circus act in Bandung in order to make ends meet.

But once his case was publicised donations from the public began to flood in for his treatment.

It is not known who will fund this family's treatment although the Bangladeshi government is footing the bill for Mr Bajandar who still needs up to 15 operations in total to rid his body of the growths. 

In another case, Abul Bajandar, 26, earned the title Tree Man' because of his astonishing growths

He is now recovering in the same hospital as the new patients after having surgery to remove the growths on one of his hands. He is expected to need another 15 operations to remove the rest