Mystery illness in southern India sees 315 people fall sick and one dead
Officials investigating after hundreds of people were admitted to hospital with a wide range of symptoms
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.One person has died and at least 315 have fallen sick an outbreak of an unexplained illness in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
Authorities are yet to ascertain the cause of illness which saw a huge spike in the numbers of people admitted to hospital in the town of Eluru.
Around 170 of the patients have since been discharged, officials said. The people affected showed a wide range of symptoms, including fits, nausea, shivering and some passing out.
The state government said it had set up a 24-hour control room to tackle the situation, with chief minister Jaganmohan Reddy pledging more medical resources during a visit to hospitals in the town.
An investigation into the cause of the illness continues, after the state’s deputy health minister said tests ruled out widespread water contamination.
The person who died was a 45-year-old man who was admitted to the Government General Hospital in Eluru on Sunday morning with nausea and epilepsy-like symptoms, according to the Press Trust of India. The man died hours later.
The state's health minister, Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas, has also ruled out Covid-19 as the cause of all the symptoms, saying every patient tested negative for coronavirus.
“The people who fell sick, especially the children, suddenly started vomiting after complaining of burning eyes. Some of them fainted or suffered bouts of seizures,” a medical officer from Eluru hospital told The Indian Express.
A series of tests have been performed on the people affected, but the results are yet to support a diagnosis.
A district official did say that results were awaited for E-coli, an infection caused by coming into contact with infected faeces.
Milk and food samples have also been sent for examination while local authorities are conducting house-to-house surveys to identify more prospective patients.
The outbreak of unidentified illness comes as Andhra Pradesh grapples with a Covid-19 outbreak that has seen more than 850,000 cases recorded, thousands of which are still active.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments