Eluru mystery illness cases reaches 593 & active cases count 46

ELURU (Andhra Pradesh): The number of cases of the mysterious Eluru illness, in Andhra Pradesh's West Godavari district headquarters Eluru reached 593, but also active cases had declined to 46 on Wednesday evening.

The remaining affected of the illness whose symptoms included three to five minutes of epileptic fits, forgetfulness, anxiety, vomiting, headache and back pain have been discharged.

West Godavari Joint Collector Himanshu Shukla, who called the outbreak a "point source epidemic", said 10 more people are ready to get discharged.

Eluru, which is 58 km northeast of Vijayawada, is a coastal paddy cultivation and aquaculture hub.

Until now, 22 water samples have been tested, which showed E Coli to be normal while pesticide, organochlorine, has been found. Likewise, 10 blood samples examined for heavy metals found a high presence of lead as well as nickel.

"40 new samples of blood and urine were sent to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi for further investigation," said an official statement.

A total of 35 samples of cerebral spinal fluid, tested for cell count, have emerged normal. (IANS)

Also Read: Lead &organochlorine suspected till now in Eluru's mysterious epidemic

Also Watch: Tarun Gogoi 'Architect of Modern Assam': Himanta Biswa Sarma on his mentor