Hundreds of people have been left bald by a mystery virus, with health officials at a loss as to what has caused it with not much in common between all 15 villages where it’s been seen
Hundreds of people have been left bald(Image: Supplied )
A new mystery virus has left hundreds of people bald – including children. While the world is currently dealing with the virus formerly dubbed “Chinese mystery virus” but later revealed as HMPV, another one has appeared but with very strange symptoms.
Health officials in in Indian district of Buldhana have been left baffled after hundreds of villagers suddenly started losing their hair.
The strange virus has been found across 15 villages in the region, and is thought to start with intense itching of the scalp.
And it then takes just two to three days before complete hair loss is seen caused by “a gentle touch or tug cause hair to fall out in clumps” – with 150 men, women and children said to have lost their hair so far, with around 400 in total being affected by other symptoms.
Locals and officials are at a loss(Image: Supplied )
It has been dubbed locally as the “baldness virus,” the Times of India reports, while the main villages being hit by it are Hingna, Bondagon, Bhota and Pahur Purna.
Dr Anil Banker, a medical officer in Shegaon, has claimed that the virus could have been caused by a mixed of several horrible things all happening at once, including contaminated water, nutritional deficiencies, fungal infections of “adverse reactions to certain cosmetic products” – although the likelihood of all 400 people across 15 villages using the same products seems rather slim.
The villages are all located near the Purna river basin, which local reports state is known for having poor water quality, including excessive fluoride content.
However the exact cause of the mystery virus is unknown as health officials continue to carry out tests of both the water and villagers.
Local official Rameshwar Dharkar told the Hindustan Times: “When they were sent to a public health centre located two kilometres away, doctors suspected it was the consequence of using a certain hair-washing product. They prescribed temporary medication and referred them to a taluka health centre.
“However, when similar cases began appearing among other villagers, we contacted higher-ups in the district.”
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