More than 600 people became ill and reported nausea, seizures, and fainting with excessive amounts of lead and nickel that were later found in their blood samples.
New delhi, india Scientists have found nickel in milk samples taken in an area of India where hundreds of patients fell ill with a mysterious disease a week ago.
More than 600 people in the city of Eluru in Andhra Pradesh became ill and reported nausea, seizures and fainting. Excessive amounts of lead and nickel were found in the patients’ blood samples.
One person died on December 7.
Two more patients admitted with symptoms of the disease died last week, but local health officials said the deaths were not due to the “mystery disease” but to other health complications.
A scientist from the Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) revealed that nickel was found in milk samples collected in the city of Eluru.
“The presence of nickel in milk samples is something that warns us. It should not be present in milk samples. It is alarming, “Avr Mohan, medical superintendent of Eluru District Hospital, told Al Jazeera in a telephone interview.
Mohan, who is also the district health services coordinator, said scientists have not yet discovered why metal was found in milk samples, but that there is a possibility that it came from pesticides.
615 patients were admitted to Eluru hospital after falling ill [Ani/Reuters]
“It must be somewhere in the pasture or something the cattle are consuming,” he said.
On Wednesday, Indian media reported that experts from AIIMS, the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) and other renowned institutions confirmed that pesticide residues could be behind the outbreak of the mysterious disease.
Last week, health experts said they found excessive amounts of lead and nickel in blood samples from patients.
Authorities have yet to find the source of the lead.
“Lead is not found in other samples. It was only found in blood samples from patients, ”Mohan said. “You need to identify the source.”
Indian media reported that officials from the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), who analyzed food samples such as meat, poultry, fish, shrimp and vegetables, found pesticide components in some vegetables.
Authorities said the remaining patients were discharged and no new cases have been reported since Sunday.
.
