Mysterious illness strikes town in Andhra Pradesh, over 500 patients are in hospital

BY S VENKAT NARAYAN

Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI:

The number of patients affected with the mysterious illness in Eluru town in Andhra Pradesh’s West Godavari district is rising by the hour. Over 500 cases were reported by Tuesday afternoon.

According to the officials, 525 patients were admitted with epilepsy, dizziness and vomiting-like symptoms since December 5. The victims include children, women and the aged.

West Godavari district Joint Collector Himanshu Shukla said 171 patients were undergoing treatment in Eluru Government General Hospital (GGH), 354 were discharged and 22 cases have been referred to Vijayawada and Guntur GGHs.

“Patients were collapsing suddenly with epilepsy and frothing. They were complaining of headache and dizziness. Over 50 fresh cases were reported in the last 12 hours,” said a doctor.

“Of the total, 73 were aged one to twelve years, 288 patients were between 12 to 35 years and 169 were above 35 years. The recovery percentage is good,” Shukla said. Meanwhile, the mysterious disease is spreading to other colonies in Eluru town and the neighbouring villages, the locals said.

“On the first three days, cases were reported from Dakshina Veedhi, Arundathi Peta, Ashok Nagar, Toorpu Veedhi, Kothapeta and other areas. But on Tuesday, a few cases were reported from Denduluru village,” said Lakshman, who shifted a patient to GGH.

Officials of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) and other teams which examined the patients in Eluru Government General Hospital (GGH) found the presence of nickel and lead elements in their blood samples.

“Presence of lead and nickel chemicals in the blood may affect the neurological system. The chemicals will cause epilepsy, vomitings, breathing problem, temporary loss of memory, dizziness and other symptoms,” say the specialists.

“We noticed nickel and lead elements in the blood samples. A report would be submitted to the Central Government. More investigations should be done to find out the reasons for the situation,” said an expert of AIIMS on Tuesday.

Experts from World Health Oranisation (WHO), National Institute of Virology (NIV), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), NIN and AIIMS are camping in West Godavari.

The teams are visiting the affected areas in Eluru town and the Government General Hospital (GGH) and are conducting investigations.

“We collected blood, smear, stool, urine and other samples from the patients and recorded their statements on the sufferings and symptoms. Samples are being sent to New Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune and other places for thorough investigations,” said an NIN official.

Doctors treating the patients said all the victims were admitted with similar complaints and are suffering with common symptoms. But, the presence of the chemicals in the blood samples is not much as the patients are recovering fast. If the density of the toxins is high, it will affect the neurological system, said a neuro surgeon. “We are trying to find out whether the chemicals were water- or food-borne. A documentation is being made based on the medical reports and the statements of the patients. An overall autopsy is being done to find out the reasons for the situation,” said a specialist who is camping in Eluru.

The scientists and experts held series of meetings with the doctors treating the patients and officials, and explained their findings in the preliminary investigations.