Andhra Pradesh's West Godavari district officials are yet to conclude the cause of Eluru's mysterious illness but suspect that lead or organochlorine or a combination of both might have caused the outbreak.
Himanshu Shukla, Joint Collector, West Godavari district, "It is a case of the neurotoxin which is either lead or organochlorine or it can be both.”
Shukla said seven to eight teams of experts from reputed institutions have come to this conclusion, even as they continue medical examinations and investigations to completely demystify the disease. Heavy metals such as lead and nickel were found in the blood samples of the victims while water was contaminated with organochlorine pesticide
Shukla added, "Whatever was there, it is not there now, because the number of cases has reduced drastically.” He called the outbreak a 'point source epidemic'.
"What can be said now is that it was a point source epidemic. Like it was not everywhere, it has come from one particular thing which was an acute intoxication. It was not like it was happening for several months or days," said Shukla.
Officials have sent samples of vegetables, water, milk, rice and other items from the affected areas for testing to identify the route of the toxin into people’s bodies.
"Now what is the food source? I have already told you, we have taken a lot of samples of vegetables, water, milk and rice. Results will come only by Thursday late evening. Only then can we pinpoint what was the cause," Shukla added.
Three to five minutes of epileptic fits without repetition, forgetfulness, anxiety, vomiting, headache and back pain are some symptoms of this mysterious disease.
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"This is what has been finalised till now, either it is lead or organochlorine or both. We are working backwards as I told you before," said Shukla about the elimination method being followed by the experts to rule out various possibilities.
Experts from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS, New Delhi); National Institute of Nutrition (Hyderabad); National Institute of Virology; National Centre for Disease Control; Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT, Hyderabad); Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) and others are studying the mysterious disease.
Source: IANS