Excessive amounts of lead and nickel were found in blood samples from patients who became ill on Saturday, the official says.
New Delhi, India – Excessive amounts of lead and nickel were found in blood samples from patients who had fallen ill due to a “mysterious disease” in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, a medical official told Al Jazeera.
More than 500 people in the Andhra Pradesh town of Eluru became ill and reported nausea, seizures and fainting on Saturday. At least one person died from the disease on Sunday.
Preliminary findings from medical experts, according to a local government statement, suggest that lead and nickel poisoning could be responsible for the disease.
“So far, the results we have received from the experts at AIIMS (Indian Institute of Medical Sciences) show excessive amounts of lead and nickel in the blood of patients,” Dr. AVR Mohan, Medical Superintendent, told Al Jazeera. from the Vijayawada District Hospital. over the phone.
“Initially, we had sent samples from 10 patients and yesterday (Tuesday) we sent 30 more samples whose results will probably arrive today.”
Dr. Mohan, who is also the district health services coordinator for Vijayawada, said none of the patients were found to have COVID-19. “We have tested each patient for COVID-19, but none came back positive.”
He said 72 patients suffering from the mysterious disease were admitted to the hospital.
“We have already discharged more than 400 patients from the hospital,” he said.
The health official said that at least six patients who had recovered from the disease suffered a second seizure and were readmitted to hospital. “They were later released from the hospital,” Dr. Mohan told Al Jazeera.
Officials have also collected vegetable and milk samples from the districts involved for testing.
“More tests are being done by [the] Indian Institute of Chemical Technology and other institutes and results are expected soon, ”said a statement from Andhra Pradesh’s chief minister’s office.
Initially it was suspected that water contamination could have been the cause of the disease, but health experts found no lead or nickel in the analyzed water samples.
On Tuesday, Indian authorities said they were investigating whether organochlorines used as pesticides or in mosquito control had caused the outbreak.
Federal legislator GVL Narasimha Rao, who is from the state, said on Twitter that he had spoken with government medical experts and that “the most likely cause is poisonous organochlorine substances.”
“It’s one of the possibilities,” said Geeta Prasadini, director of public health in the state of Andhra Pradesh, adding that they were awaiting test reports to determine the cause.
Bilal Kuchay contributed to the report from New Delhi.
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