Mystery illness lands over 300 people in the hospital in southern India

A "mystery" illness linked to one death put more than 300 people in the hospital over the weekend in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Dozens of residents in Eluru city started falling ill on Saturday night, with some losing consciousness.

This comes as India continues to battle the Covid-19 pandemic, with the world's second-highest number of infections. Andhra Pradesh is one of the worst-affected states, and currently has more than 800,000 confirmed cases.

A note released by Andhra Pradesh's Health Department said that initial blood tests did not find any evidence of a viral infection, such as dengue or chikungunya, which are both caused by mosquito bites.

Authorities are now testing water samples in Eluru for contamination, after all the patients were found to receive their water from a common source. Samples have been collected from 57,863 households and sent to a forensic laboratory.

A team of experts was sent to the region by the federal government on Monday to investigate the illness.

The Times of India reported that most of the patients were in their 20s and 30s, though there were some children under the age of 12 as well. 

According to the newspaper, “Organochlorine pesticides” are now believed to be the most likely cause of the sudden illness. According to the newspaper, these chemicals are mostly used in anti-mosquito fogging.

When asked about the possibility of the chemical being responsible an Indian government official told the Times, “Mostly yes, but we are waiting for the laboratory report [for confirmation].”

Source: https://thehill.com/homenews/news/529081-hundreds-sickened-by-mystery-illness-in-southern-india

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/07/asia/india-mystery-illness-intl-hnk-scli/index.html

Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/india-mystery-illness-eluru-over-300-in-hospital-epilepsy-like-symptoms/

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