Pokhara, September 11

As many as 14 seasonal hyperacute panuveitis patients have come into contact with doctors in Gandaki Province till date.

Of them, some have gone to Kathmandu for treatment while others are being treated at Himalaya Eye Hospital Pokhara. SHAPU is an eye infection caused by the white butterfly. The eye infected with the disease runs the risk of losing sight.

Himalaya Eye Hospital Chief Medical Director Dr Indraman Maharjan said that four patients had returned home after treatment.  “Of those infected with SHAPU, surgery was conducted on two persons while two others are under surveillance”, said Dr Maharjan, adding, “Those who showed interest to go to Kathmandu were referred there”.

Dr Maharjan said that four patients were referred to Tilganga Eye Hospital while three others were referred to TU Teaching Hospital, Maharajgunj. “Four patients went home after they were cured”, he stated. According to Dr Maharjan, SHAPU appears every two years and spreads as an epidemic in the area.

The disease was detected two years ago with five years’ gap. The disease was seen from the first week of September this year.

Earlier, a team of doctors had come to Pokhara after SHAPU surfaced in the Lake City. A total of six patients had visited Himalaya Eye Hospital with the same disease last Thursday.

Doctors claimed that SHAPU was seen in Pokhara in 1975 for the first time. Health workers and doctors say that 15,000 people have been hit with the disease across the country.

According to Dr Madan Kumar Upadhyay, onset of sudden redness on the eye, difficulty seeing in the light and loss of vision in a short period of time are symptoms of the disease. The disease can be cured if the patient receives treatment within 48 hours.