AmaravatiA total of 18 people, including children, suddenly fell unconscious after suffering symptoms of seizures and nausea in the Andhra Pradesh town of Eluru on Saturday, but all returned to normal within minutes.
The incident in the One-Town area, however, sparked panic among city residents as conversations spread about a mysterious illness affecting people.
Senior Deputy Minister (Health) AKK Srinivas (Nani), representing Eluru, immediately took action and visited the local Government General Hospital to assess the situation.
He said that everything was normal and there was no need to panic.
“We have collected blood samples and sent them for examination to determine the cause of the disease,” Nani said.
Approximately 60% of the victims were in the 10 to 18 age group, while others were older. West Godavari District Joint Collector Himanshu Shukla told PTI by phone that a CT scan of the victims was also taken and that everything turned out to be normal.
This could be a case of viral infection, he said.
These people complained of body aches, headaches, nausea, and seizure symptoms before losing consciousness. But in 10-15 minutes, they normalized and there is nothing serious, Himanshu noted.
A pediatrician and a neurosurgeon were treating the patients and beds have also been prepared at the GGH to attend to any emergencies, he added.
Water samples were collected from the One-Town area to check if any contamination caused the sudden outbreak.
These cases are sporadic and not widespread even in that particular locality. But we are looking at all the factors, Himanshu said.
…
