At least 157 people, including 55 children, have been treated at Jaffna Teaching Hospital after developing painful eye problems following a Hindu temple festival, the Jaffna Monitor reported.
Police have since seized high-powered lamps used at the event as investigators seek to determine whether the lighting caused the injuries, the report said.
The patients had attended a festival at a Murugan temple in the Piranpatru area of Jaffna, where powerful electric lamps had been installed around the temple grounds.
Dr. T. Sathyamoorthy, director of Jaffna Teaching Hospital, said those seeking treatment included 58 men, 44 women and 55 children. They reported symptoms including eye pain, irritation and difficulty opening their eyes.
The Jaffna District Secretary and the Sandilipay Divisional Secretary have advised anyone who visited the temple on Thursday to go to Jaffna Teaching Hospital for an eye examination.
Police have seized several high-powered, Chinese-made lamps that had been installed at the temple and sent them for technical examination. Authorities are examining their electrical specifications, intensity and intended use, as well as whether the lamps were approved for use around the public or subject to any restrictions.
Photographs of the seized equipment show large glass lamps containing internal arc-tube assemblies resembling high-intensity discharge, or HID, lamps. Such lamps include metal-halide and mercury-vapour types, although the precise type, wattage and specifications of those seized cannot be determined from photographs alone.
Police have not yet established that the lamps caused the injuries.
But doctors say the nature of the symptoms has raised the possibility of photokeratitis, an acute injury to the surface of the eye caused by excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation. (JaffnaMonitor)