Pesticide residues, heavy metals found to be causing mystery illness in Eluru
Vijayawada: Residues of pesticides and preservatives that farmers use to keep vegetables fresh and fish feed containing heavy metals like lead and nickel were reported to have caused mystery illness, affecting nearly 536 people in Eluru in West Godavari.
State health authorities said farmers use pesticides, preservatives and heavy metals extensively for vegetables and fish and these chemicals might have entered the body of the consumers, affecting their health.
In its preliminary report, New Delhi-based All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) confirmed the high presence of heavy metals like lead and nickel in the blood samples of 10 affected patients, substantiating the suspicion of the state health authorities that these metals could be one of the prime reasons for causing mystery illness.
The state health authorities have sent 40 samples of blood and urine of the affected persons to AIIMS for investigation and their reports are expected to be out by Wednesday afternoon.
Eluru government hospital medical superintendent Dr A.V.R. Mohan said, “Though the root cause of the mystery illness is yet to be found out, based on a preliminary assessment, we understand that consumption of vegetables, fruits and fish — having deposits of residues of pesticides and heavy metals — without cleaning them properly might be one of the reasons for triggering such an illness.”
The mystery illness affected at least 536 persons since Saturday. Out of them, only 64 are taking treatment as in-patients while the rest of them were discharged after recovery. Twenty patients were referred to government hospitals in Vijayawada and Guntur also.
The health authorities maintain that the presence of pesticide residues and heavy metals like lead in the body will lead to convulsions among people as was the case in Eluru. No patient complained of fever and other symptoms and their recovery was also fast — sometimes even without any medical support.
Experts from National Institute of Nutrition, National Institute of Virology, National Centre for Disease Control, AIIMS and World Health Organisation are involved in taking up a series of investigations to find out the reason for the mystery illness.
Chief Minister Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, meanwhile, inquired about the results of a series of tests conducted on the people affected by the mystery illness and directed the officials to find out how heavy metals entered people’s bodies.
