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An unknown disease has emerged in India, the origin of which is now being investigated. Several hundred people have been hospitalized in the city of Eluru in the southeastern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh since last Saturday. One patient has died, reports the India Today website.
According to the website, preliminary analysis of the test reports showed that the chemicals in the pesticides may have played a role in the disease. As reported by the Reuters news agency, Indian authorities are investigating so-called chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides. The British »BBC« also reports that high concentrations of lead and nickel were found in the blood of patients.
More than 450 people are reported to be hospitalized with dizziness, fainting, headache, and vomiting. They had tested negative for Sars-CoV-2. According to the Times of India newspaper, there are no signs of an infectious disease or a person-to-person infection. A team of medical experts is on its way to the region, according to the Indian Ministry of Health.
Accumulation in adipose tissue
Water contamination as a cause of the disease has apparently already been ruled out. Chlorinated hydrocarbon substances are now an option, said Geeta Prasadini, director of public health in Andhra Pradesh. Test results are currently awaited. There have been no new cases in the last 24 hours.
Chlorinated hydrocarbons are banned in many countries because they could have negative health effects. However, some of the pollutants remain in the environment for years and accumulate in animal and human body fat or nerve cells.
It is unclear where and by whom the agent is used in India. It was reportedly found, among other things, as DDT in mosquito repellants. DDT is suspected of causing cancer in humans, but is still used, for example, in the fight against the spread of malaria.
Severe cases of illness in India affected a population that was severely affected by the corona pandemic. After the US, India is the second country with the most Sars-CoV-2 infections, according to Johns Hopkins University, more than 9.7 million people have been infected with the corona virus there.
