Buldhana, May 18 — Following a surge of mysterious hair and nail loss cases reported across several villages in Buldhana district between December 2024 and April 2025, state health authorities have initiated comprehensive surveillance to identify the source of elevated selenium believed to be causing the health anomaly.
According to officials, 297 cases of unexplained hair loss were recorded between December 2024 and February 2025 across 18 villages including Kathora, Kalwad, Shegaon, Machhindrakhed, and Nandora. By mid-April 2025, 76 of these individuals also reported nail loss.
Prompted by these developments, health officials collected samples of staple foodgrains—wheat, rice, and jowar—from local grocery stores and the public distribution system (PDS), alongside soil and water samples from affected areas. These samples were sent to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Nagpur, for analysis.
Dr. Babita Kamlapurkar, Joint Director of Health Services, confirmed that the AIIMS reports revealed elevated selenium levels in the tested samples, implicating it as the likely cause of the hair and nail symptoms. Further testing conducted by a team from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) detected similarly high selenium concentrations in blood and hair samples of affected individuals.
Last month, Dr. Kamlapurkar led a health team to Buldhana, conducting door-to-door visits in affected villages to assess the situation. A separate group of central health experts also carried out an inspection of the district. Following these investigations, ongoing surveillance efforts have been intensified to identify additional sources of selenium exposure while continuing to monitor both existing and new cases.
“We are actively monitoring water and foodgrains consumed by residents in the affected villages,” Dr. Kamlapurkar said. “Samples of water, soil, and foodgrains will be collected regularly and tested to trace the source of selenium contamination.”
Dr. Amol Gite, District Health Officer of Buldhana, reported no new cases to date but emphasized that surveillance continues across the 18 affected villages and healthcare centers throughout the district. “We have yet to pinpoint the exact source of selenium exposure in these cases. Surveillance will remain in place until further instructions from the state government,” he said.
Authorities urge residents to remain vigilant and report any symptoms such as hair or nail loss to local health facilities for prompt evaluation.
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