Updated: December 7, 2020 9:41:37 pm
Patients and their passersby are cared for at the district government hospital in Eluru, Andhra Pradesh. (AP Photo)
The Center will send a three-member team to visit Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday to investigate a “mysterious “disease which has affected more than 300 people in the West Godavari district of the state, news agency PTI reported.
According to an office memorandum issued by the Union Ministry of Health, the core team consisting of Dr. Jamshed Nayar, Associate Professor (Emergency Medicine), AIIMS, Dr. Avinash Desohtawar, Virologist, NIV, Pune and the Dr. Sanket Kulkarni, Deputy Director, PH, National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) will arrive at Eluru in Andhra Pradesh.
The team would make “an urgent visit to Andhra Pradesh, to investigate the incident of the sudden illness of people in an Eluru environment,” he said. “The team should arrive tomorrow morning and present a preliminary report in the evening,” according to the office memo.
Earlier in the day Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy visited the general government
Hospital and interacted with patients. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, a native of Andhra Pradesh’s Nellore district, has spoken with Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan about the matter.
At least 300 people, including several children, some as young as 4, have fallen ill in Eluru, in the West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, since Saturday night. A medical officer at Eluru Government Hospital said patients complained of burning eyes.
Of the 347 affected, about 200 patients have been discharged from the hospital after treatment. Most of the patients were in the 20 to 30 age group, while there were about 45 children who were less than 12 years old.
The people who fell ill belong to various societies, such as Ashok Nagar and Arundhatipet, in the town of Eluru, where a case of contamination of drinking water was reported 10 days ago. While officials initially suspected the cause was contaminated drinking water or air pollution, both were ruled out Sunday night. Health Minister A Kali Krishna Srinivas said blood samples and swabs have been sent for laboratory analysis, and reports are expected. Teams of doctors have been transferred from Vijayawada to help local doctors and also to investigate the cause of the disease.
(PTI inputs)
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