Buldhana Maharashtra India – A recent investigation into a sudden outbreak of baldness in the Buldhana district has identified high selenium levels in wheat sourced from ration shops as a potential cause. Selenium, a metalloid with properties of both metals and non-metals, is essential for various bodily functions. However, both excessive consumption and deficiency can be harmful.
Due to limited resources, blood samples were taken from only six affected individuals. The samples revealed low levels of zinc, which supports hair growth through dietary intake. Previously, teams from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), deployed to investigate the outbreak, also identified excessive selenium levels in the blood of those affected as the cause of the baldness. Although they pointed to wheat from ration shops as a potential source, they stopped short of confirming it as the definitive cause.
ICMR officials told TOI that their report was submitted to the Union Ministry of Health. When asked whether ration shop wheat was mentioned in the findings, they neither confirmed nor denied it. Dr. Bawaskar sent the collected wheat samples to Varni Analytics lab in Thane. The normal amount of selenium in wheat ranges from 0.1 to 1.9 mg/kg. However, the selenium level in unwashed ration shop wheat was found to be 14.52 mg/kg, nearly eight times higher than the maximum normal amount and 145 times higher than the minimum. In washed wheat, the selenium level was 13.61 mg/kg.
"We checked the gunny bags in ration shops and found out that they have come from Punjab," Dr. Bawaskar said. Images sent to TOI show gunny bags stamped with the Govt of Punjab seal, marked with "Crop year 2024-25, Commodity: Wheat/Paddy." In the early 2000s, people living in two districts of Punjab—Hoshiarpur and Nawanshahr—experienced a similar pattern of sudden hair loss accompanied by other health issues. Studies documented that selenium was transported through floodwaters from the Shivalik mountain range to many of the villages in these districts, contaminating crops.
Dr. Bawaskar believes it is likely that the wheat in the ration shop is accidentally sourced from one of these high-selenium-containing lands. There is a deeper context to why he involved himself in investigating the sudden outbreak of baldness. In 2010, a similar health crisis emerged in Buldhana district when residents from 200 villages began reporting cases of kidney disease. Dr. Bawaskar conducted extensive health camps in the region and discovered high levels of cadmium and lead in the local water supply, establishing a correlation between the contamination and the surge in kidney ailments.
Dr. Bawaskar's dedication to uncovering the cause of the baldness outbreak, spending Rs 92,000 on lab tests from his own pocket, underscores the importance of addressing environmental health risks. Further investigations and measures are needed to prevent such incidents and safeguard public health.
For more updates on this developing story, stay tuned REPORTLINE.
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