Several residents of three villages in Maharashtra's Buldhana district have turned bald within a week after mass hair loss over the past few days. Health officials suspect that water pollution due to fertilisers was behind the mass hair loss. The officials collected samples of water in the area and villagers' hair and skin samples for testing.
The three villages - Borgaon, Kalwad and Hingna -- are in the Shegaon tehsil of Buldhana district. Residents have said men and women were losing tufts of hair over the past several days. Once the hair fall begins, the person turns bald within a week.
On camera, several people show how a gentle tug was uprooting hair on their heads. Others pointed to the bald spots that developed within a week.
The panic across the three villages has prompted a visit by top district health officials.
According to the health department team that visited the villages, about 50 people have been identified as suffering from this problem and doctors fear this number could rise. Samples of skin and hair have been collected and doctors believe this swift hair fall could be caused by polluted water as well as a health issue. As the doctors wait for test results to identify the cause of the mass hair fall, they have asked the villages to take good care of their health.
Shegaon health officer Dr Deepali Rahekar was part of the health team that visited the village. "It could be due to polluted water. We have collected samples and will test them to reach a conclusion."
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