NEW DELHI: At least one died and over 300 people have been hospitalized by an unidentified illness in India’s southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
Located in the West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, the cause and origin of an unidentified illness have still not determined. “The patients had a wide range of symptoms from nausea to fits and falling unconscious,” said the doctor at Eluru Hospital.
“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,” the doctors added.
Originally, the doctors suspected contaminated water or air to be the root-cause, both were ruled out later. Swabs and samples of all patients have been sent to the lab for further investigation and analysis, while reports are awaited.
All patients also underwent coronavirus testing which turned out negative. A large number of beds at Eluru Government Hospital have been freed up in case of any emergency.
Seventy people have been discharged, while another 157 are still being treated, officials said. The state’s chief minister said that special medical teams were being sent to Eluru to investigate the cause of the illness.
The disease comes as India continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic with more than 9,600,000 cases and 140,000 deaths.
