Mysterious illness hits India's Andhra Pradesh
It has killed one and hospitalised around 300 residents of Eluru town in India's Andhra Pradesh
A mysterious ailment has killed one and hospitalised around 300 residents of Eluru town in India's Andhra Pradesh.
Local health authorities are still clueless about the disease or what had triggered the concurrent symptoms in this many people, Times of India reported.
Reportedly, patients have shown symptoms of seizures, sudden loss of consciousness, frothing and shivering.
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On Sunday (6 December), 45 people from four different areas of Eluru admitted to local hospitals with strange symptoms.
Among those 300 hospitalised, 46 were children and 70 women.
Their nervous system seems to have been affected but the causative agent is not clear.
Officials said they are providing symptomatic treatment.
A team of experts from AIIMS Delhi, along with local authorities, ruled out water or food contamination.
Local health authorities said they would know the exact cause only after they get the reports of cerebral-spinal fluid samples sent to laboratories in Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam.
Health experts are looking into various angles, including chemical poisoning through air pollution or contaminated milk. Some believe that it is a case of mass hysteria.
"In my 25 years of service, I have never seen such cases," said Dr Suhasini, DM&HO, Krishna.
"We are watching the health condition of patients who fell sick at Eluru. Two kids admitted at the old government hospital in Vijayawada are doing well. We are waiting for test reports," he added.
