Andhra govt appoints high level committee to probe Eluru ‘mystery’ illness

A high level multi-disciplinary committee has been formed by the Andhra Pradesh government to probe the mystery illness in Eluru region of Andhra Pradesh because of which 607 people have fallen sick so far. According to the sources, the committee consists of 21 members.

 

According to the official information, the committee would ‘investigate the outbreak of sudden convulsions of unknown origin in Eluru municipal corporation limits.’ “After careful examination of the situation, the government hereby constitutes a multi-disciplinary committee with the following members to investigate the source of the infection, thoroughly examine various causes of the incident and suggest remedial measures to prevent any occurrence of such events in future in the state,” says the official note.

 

As per the data from the government, the first such sudden convulsions was reported in the state on December 5 and within a span of five days by December 10, the number of cases have increased to 597 with the similar symptoms.

 

The affected patients have also shown other symptoms such as epileptic fits, forgetfulness, anxiety, vomiting, headache and back pain apart from convulsions. All the affected patients were treated in the government hospitals of Eluru and Vijayawada. Of all the affected, 515 persons were discharged after the recovery.

 

Apart from the committee, several expert teams are also visiting Eluru to find the cause of the illness. A four-member NIN team has been deputed to Eluru while a two-member World Health Organisation (WHO) team has also arrived. And, a joint team with experts from the National Institute of Virology (Pune), National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and AIIMS was also expected.

 

Meanwhile blood samples of patients and the water and milk samples from the surrounding areas are also being collected and analysed. Officials are yet to reach a conclusion on the cause of Eluru's mysterious illness but suspect that lead or organochlorine or a combination of both might have caused the outbreak.

 

(With IANS inputs)

 

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