NEW DELHI, Dec 8: The mysterious disease that hit some parts of Eluru town in Andhra Pradesh with the number of patients increasing by hours seems to be spreading to other nearby areas with more than 525 patients admitted in the government general hospital.
The official sources said on Tuesday that the patients affected with the mysterious illness with epilepsy, dizziness and vomiting-like symptoms in the last four days included people from all ages with the highest number of 288 patients falling in the age group of 12 to 35 years.
One person died after more than 315 patients including several women and children were admitted in the government hospital on Monday following the undiagnosed illness in the last couple of days.
The number of in-patients, which was 55 on Saturday midnight and 170 by Sunday morning, rose to 315 by Monday and further to 525 on Tuesday. In addition, about 50 persons with the same illness were also receiving treatments in private hospitals while about 170 patients were discharged, reports said.
Patients developed dizziness, headache and epilepsy-like symptoms. Most of the cases reported were from Kobbari Thota, Kothapeta, Toorpu Veedhi and Arundhatipeta, doctors treating the patients said. But on Tuesday was spreading to other colonies and the neighbouring villages, official sources said.
The AP Deputy Chief Minister and Health Minister Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas said Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had enquired about the situation. A house-to-house survey was being taken up and the situation was under control, the Minister said.
Medical teams from various hospitals in West Godavari and Krishna districts, staff of ward secretariats and officials of the revenue and police departments rushed to the colonies and were attending on the patients in the camps arranged on the streets.
“Water, food and blood samples have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL). The reports are awaited. CT scan and X-ray reports of the parents are normal. COVID-19 tests were conducted for all the patients and the results were negative,” doctors said.
“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. Official sources said presence of nickel and lead elements had been found in the blood samples of the some of the patients in the Eluru hospital.
(Manas Dasgupta)