SunstarTV Bureau: A large number of people suddenly fell ill at Eluru in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, last night.
At least 227 persons, including several children and women have been admitted in the local district hospital. So far 70 have been discharged. Whereas, 76 women and 46 children are still in the hospital.
District Collector R Muthyala Raju said that blood samples have been collected to determine the cause of the illness but the reason for sudden illness is not yet be known.
However, Officials suspect it could be due to contamination of drinking water. But viral encephalitis has also not been ruled out.
Report stated, “The people who fell sick belong to four societies of Ashok Nagar and Arundhatipet in Eluru town, where a case of contamination of drinking water was reported 10 days back.”
Due to the increasing number of patient, professional doctor teams have been rushed from Vijayawada to assist the local doctors and to investigate the cause of illness.
A medical officer at Eluru Government Hospital, said, “The people who fell sick, especially the children, suddenly started vomiting after complaining of burning sensation in their eyes. Some of them fainted or suffered bouts of seizures. Some were in critical condition when they were first brought on Saturday but now all of them are safe.”
To investigate the reason behind this mass illness, the District Collector, Raju conduct a door to door survey of the affected areas to check for water contamination.
