A recent study has revealed that the sudden onset of severe hair loss among hundreds of residents in Maharashtra’s Buldhana district is likely due to toxic elements in wheat distributed through the Public Distribution System (PDS). This alarming phenomenon, which has affected nearly 300 people across 18 villages—including many college students and young girls—had left health authorities puzzled for weeks.
The breakthrough came from a month-long study led by Padma Shri awardee Dr. Himmatrao Bawaskar. His research identified excessive selenium in the wheat as the primary cause. Wheat samples from the affected areas showed a selenium content 600 times higher than the locally grown variety. Tests conducted at Verni Analytical Lab in Thane found selenium levels in the wheat to be 14.52 mg/kg, far surpassing the normal threshold of 1.9 mg/kg.
Dr. Bawaskar confirmed that high selenium intake was responsible for the rapid onset of alopecia, with complete baldness occurring just three to four days after the first symptoms appeared. Blood, urine, and hair tests further confirmed alarmingly elevated selenium levels—35, 60, and 150 times higher than normal, respectively.
The affected wheat consignments were traced back to Punjab. Dr. Bawaskar noted that individuals aged between eight and seventy-two years were impacted by the condition. The social consequences have been profound, with students withdrawing from school and college, and marriages disrupted due to the sudden onset of baldness.
While Dr. Bawaskar has yet to submit his findings to local authorities, a parallel investigation by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has corroborated the presence of high selenium levels in the blood samples of those affected. Additional tests on water and soil samples from the region have also been conducted, though the ICMR’s full report to the central government has not yet been disclosed.
