The extreme hair loss reports from Maharashtra villages have triggered concern among people of other districts and states. According to the Hindu Report, over 190 people from 12 villages of Shegaon taluka in Budhana district are suffering from strange kinds of hair fall, which resulted in baldness for some, including children, men and women.
Following this, researchers from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said that the medical term for this crisis could be anagen effluvium, a type of hair loss that occurs when hair in the growth phase is damaged. The experts say it is a non-scarring form of alopecia.
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ICMR Chennai scientist Dr. Manoj Vasant Murhekar after visiting villages in Maharashtra said teams of ICMR and AIIMS Delhi have completed sample collection work on Friday, January 17, 2025. The samples will be sent for testing to ICMR- National Institute for Research in Environmental Health (NIREH) lab in Bhopal and AIIMS Delhi.
The scientist said that these samples for hair loss are collected from over 155 people from all age groups. The teams also conducted fungal tested for the affected people, but tested negative. "The dermatology teams from ICMR and AIIMS have collected samples of hair, blood, urine, water, biopsy, environmental and biological samples in the last four days," told Dr Murhekar to The Hindu.
The scientist noted the people in the villages do not have any common symptoms nor are they suffering from any health concerns such as fever or diarrhoea. They do not even use many products like shampoos or conditioners.
Earlier in January, shocking reports emerged that villagers were losing their hair, which led to baldness; the villages started calling the crisis the 'baldness virus'. All the affected persons come from lower economic strata and are mostly engaged in agriculture work. Health experts have appealed to people not to panic as this is not a contagious disease.