Speculations rise as a mysterious disease engulfs nearly 400 in Andhra Pradesh’s Eluru and 150 out of the 380 patients have been admitted in the hospitals. A 45-year-old succumbed to this disease on December 5. This disease remains unexplained and the cause remains unknown and its symptoms include fits, nausea, fall consciousness, convulsions, seizure and neurological symptoms.
State health commissioner K Bhasker Rao said that people across all the age group display similar symptoms.
Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy made a visit to a government hospital in Eluru, where 150 people have been admitted. Mr Reddy’s predecessor, Chandrababu Naidu, has demanded a health emergency to be declared in the infected area.
Doctors have concluded that this does not come under the spectrum of the known viruses like Japanese Encephalitis, Dengue, Hepatitis and Rabies. Neither have any of the patients tested positive for COVID-19 either, Mr Rao said.
The patients belonging to 34 out of 62 ward secretariats in Eluru municipality might have been using the same water but tests concluded that the water is safe. The presence of 27 heavy metals in the water has been ruled out and the impurities present are within permissible limits, he emphasised.
Teams from the World Health Organisation, the Indian Council of Medical Research, All-India Institute of Medical Sciences are examining the samples, Mr Rao assured. Representatives from Hyderabad-based organisations namely National Institute of Nutrition, India, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, and Indian Institute of Chemical Technology are also probing into the matter.
Samples of blood, urine and cerebrospinal fluid have not displayed any complication. Mr Rao said that a 24×7 control room has been set up in Eluru and the doctors are now awaiting culture reports.
