ELURU: A “mysterious” disease has struck Andhra Pradesh Eluru city, with one death and around 300 residents hospitalized with complaints of seizures, sudden loss of consciousness, foam and chills. The patient who died was in treatment at the Eluru government hospital, even though the local health authorities had no idea about the “disease” or what had triggered the symptoms in people living in a wide area without a common epidemiological link .
It all started on Saturday with 45 people from four different towns in Eluru showing strange symptoms. Among those hospitalized were 46 children and 70 women. It appears that the nervous system has been affected. But the causative agent is unclear.
With local health authorities ruling out water or food contamination, a team of experts from AIIMS, Delhi, interacted with government doctors in Eluru to diagnose the strange health problem.
Local health authorities said they would know the exact cause only after receiving reports of cerebrospinal fluid samples sent to the Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam laboratories.
Health experts are looking at various angles, including chemical poisoning through air pollution or contaminated milk. Some believe that it is a case of mass hysteria.
Officials said they are providing symptomatic treatment. “We are observing the health status of the patients who fell ill in Eluru. Two children admitted to the former government hospital in Vijayawada are doing well. We are waiting for test reports. In my 25 years of service, I have never seen cases like this, ”said Dr. Suhasini, DM&HO, Krishna.
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