Author: Don Sebastian
Publication: DNA (Daily News & Analysis)
Date: February 26, 2008
URL: http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1152984
At least 50 people in Kottayam district have
reportedly lost their vision after gazing at the sun looking for an image
of Virgin Mary.
Though alarmed health authorities have installed
a signboard to counter the rumour that a solar image of Virgin Mary appeared
to the believers, curious onlookers, including foreign travellers, have been
thronging the venue of the 'miracle'.
St Joseph's ENT and Eye Hospital in Kanjirappally
alone has recorded 48 cases of vision loss due to photochemical burns on the
retina. "All our patients have similar history and symptoms. The damage
is to the macula, the most sensitive part of retina. They have developed photochemical,
not thermal, burns after continuously gazing at the sun," Dr Annamma
James Isaac, the hospital's ophthalmologist, said.
The hospital has been receiving patients with
these abnormal symptoms since Friday. When the doctors found a pattern in
the case sheets, they reported it to the district medical officer.
The health department has now put up a signboard
at the hotelier's house near Erumeli, where the divine image is said to have
appeared, warning people against exposing their eyes to sunlight.
Even the churches in the vicinity disowned
the miracle during Sunday mass after health officers and doctors approached
the clergy. The house in question has been the centre of local rumours for
a few months. The hotelier, who has since moved to another house, had claimed
that statues of Mother Mary in his house have been crying honey and bleeding
oil and perfumes.
Though people have been flocking to the "blessed
land" - hastily christened Rosa Mystica Mountain - for long, the mad
rush for the image in the sky began a week ago.
There are quite a few people still seeking
the miracle, despite the experiences of their unfortunate predecessors and
strict health warnings against gazing at the sun with the naked eye.
"The patients show varying degrees of
severity. They are mostly girls in 12-26 age group. Our youngest patient is
12 and the oldest 60. Most of them were looking at the sun between 2 and 4
pm, when UV1 and UV2 rays are harshest," Dr James Isaac said. He added
that they could identify the problem as solar retinopathy because they were
aware of the local sensation.
"Most patients may hopefully improve
their vision. But there may be long-term effects on the retina," he added.