'Mysterious disease' in Andhra Pradesh's Eluru: What we know so far

TIMESOFINDIA.COM / Updated: Dec 7, 2020, 22:05 IST

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Health experts have not yet been able to establish the cause of the mysterious disease that resulted in the death one person and has afflicted at least 350 people since Saturday night in Andhra Pradesh' Eluru city. A central team is set to visit the state on Tuesday to investigate this mysterious illness and will be submitting a review report by tomorrow evening.

'Mysterious disease' in Andhra Pradesh's Eluru: What we know so far

CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy meeting patients at hospital. (Credits: PTI)

NEW DELHI: With a mystery disease baffling health experts and the government alike, preliminary analysis of various test reports have almost established the role of organochlorine substances in the infection that has left one dead and over 450 infected in Andhra's Eluru town.
Here are the top developments:

Organochlorine pesticides are chlorinated hydrocarbons used in agriculture and mosquito control. The compounds include DDT that is widely used in anti-mosquito fogging. "Mostly yes, but we are waiting for the laboratory report (for confirmation)," a top official said when asked about organochlorine being the disease-triggering agent.
BJP MP G V L Narasimha Rao, after talking to experts at the AIIMS, New Delhi, was the first to suspect that poisonous organochlorine substances could be the most likely cause of the mysterious disease.
With water contamination ruled out as the cause of the disease spread, and also other tests turning out normal, the medical teams are now focusing on other chemical agents that could have led to the outbreak.
A central team is set to visit the state on Tuesday to investigate this mysterious illness, said an office memorandum issued by the Union health ministry on Monday. The team will be submitting a report by tomorrow evening.
Water and milk samples were also sent to the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad for analysis of heavy metal content, sources in the Medical and Health Department said.
After hundreds of people were hospitalised with complaints of multiple symptoms, Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy on Monday visited Eluru Government Hospital and assured them of all help.
There is no sign of contagiousness in the mystery illness till now, said West Godavari district collector Revu Muthyala Raju on Monday.
Currently, 157 patients are receiving treatment while 168 others have been discharged. One persons has succumbed to the mysterious disease. Of all the affected persons, 307 hail from Eluru town, 30 from Eluru's rural areas and three from Denduluru.
Raju's report highlighted that the affected persons complained of 3 to 5 minutes of epileptic fits without repetition, forgetfulness, anxiety, vomiting, headache, and back pain.
People afflicted with the mysterious disease suddenly fell unconscious after suffering from fits and nausea. It started in the One-Town area of Eluru.
Most of the victims were in the 20-30 age group while there were about 45 children below the age of 12 years.

(With agency inputs)

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