Dhading, October 2

Cases of Seasonal Hyperacute Panuveitis, a sight-threatening ocular disease, is on the rise in Dhading.

Eye officer Ramsingh Tamang at Community Eye Treatment Centre in Dhading said that dangerous SHAPU had broken out after the dissemination of specks out of the moths’ wings in the atmosphere.

Tamang said that four people including Sushila Koirala,2, Bina Tamang, 3 and one child from Lapa VDC were sent to Tilganga Eye Hospital, Kathmandu for treatment this month. “SHAPU infects mid-layer of the eye,” Tamang said adding, “This makes the eye dysfunctional”.

SHAPU patients complain of reddening of the eye, difficulty in seeing, and loss of the eye’s vision in short time, among others. The SHAPU cases have been mostly detected among earthquake victims, poor and needy and impoverished families.

A source at Eye Hospital said the hospital was receiving up to 12 SHAPU patients on a daily basis for the past one month. In the wake of SHAPU outbreak, doctors have suggested to take precautions.