KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 30
One hundred cases of SHAPU (Seasonal Hyperacute Pan-Uveitis) disease have been reported across the country in the past three years.
SHAPU is an infectious disease primarily caused by white moth.
This is the first time in 46 years that the highest number of cases have been detected in a short span of time.
Tribhuvan University senior ophthalmologist Dr Ranju Kharel said the next three months are risky in view of the exposure to the SHAPU.
The risk of disease is high from August to September. SHAPU is a rapidly destructive intra-ocular inflammatory disease, leading to disfigurement, loss of eyesight and even permanent blindness if timely medical intervention is not taken.
The first case of SHAPU was detected at a school in Pokhara in 1975. Children are predominantly vulnerable to the infection causing the disease. It can affect a 38-day-old child to an 80-year-old.
According to Dr Kharel, mid-hilly districts in Province 1, Bagmati and Lumbini provinces have report more cases of SHAPU.
However, all white months are not toxic and those featuring black stripes on wings and with a yellowish tail are agents of the disease which is transmitted with their toxic hair.
A version of this article appears in the print on October 1, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
