Doctors have ruled out Japanese encephalitis, dengue, hepatitis and rabies.
Hyderabad:
Almost 400 people have contracted a mysterious illness on Eluru in Andhra Pradesh; 150 of the 380 patients are admitted to hospitals. One person, aged 45, died on December 5. It is not yet clear what is causing the disease. People have seizures and nausea and lose consciousness.
Symptoms include seizures, seizures and neurological symptoms and are the same in all age groups and gender, said state health commissioner K Bhasker Rao.
Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy has visited a government hospital in Eluru, where 150 people are admitted. Reddy’s predecessor, Chandrababu Naidu, has demanded that a health emergency be declared in the area.
Doctors have ruled out the spectrum of known viruses: Japanese encephalitis, dengue, hepatitis, and rabies. None of the patients have tested positive for Covid either, Rao said.
Doctors have yet to identify the source of infection, Rao said.
While the patients, who belong to 34 of the 62 ward secretaries in Eluru municipality, may have been using the same water, tests showed that the water is safe. The presence of 27 heavy metals has been ruled out and the impurities are within allowable limits, he added.
Teams from the World Health Organization, the Indian Council for Medical Research and the Indian Institute of Medical Sciences are analyzing the samples, Rao said. Representatives from Hyderabad-based organizations (National Institute of Nutrition, India, Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology and Indian Institute of Chemical Technology) are also investigating the matter.
Blood, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid samples have not presented complications. Doctors are now waiting for the culture reports, Rao said. A 24×7 control room has been installed in Eluru.
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