Unidentified illness in southern India puts hundreds in the hospital

(Image credit: AP Photo)

last updated 8 December 2020

Officials in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh are trying to figure out what is causing a mysterious illness that has hospitalized at least 450 people and left one dead.

The illness was first detected in the ancient city of Eluru on Saturday evening, The Associated Press reports. Doctors said patients have reported feeling nauseous and anxious, with some losing consciousness and others foaming at the mouth. On Sunday evening, a 45-year-old man who had been hospitalized with nausea and symptoms similar to epilepsy died of a heart attack, The Guardian reports.

Water samples taken from the city do not show any signs of contamination, health officials said. The patients are from different age groups, and have tested negative for COVID-19 and other viral diseases like dengue and chikungunya. On Monday, India's central government sent a team of experts to Eluru to investigate the illness. Andhra Pradesh has been hit hard by the coronavirus, with more than 800,000 cases recorded, and the virus is straining the state's health care system.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Speed Reads

To continue reading this article...

Create a free account

Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.

Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.

Cancel or pause at any time.

Already a subscriber to The Week?

Unlimited website access is included with Digital and Print + Digital subscriptions.
with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.

Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox