Mystery illness hits India: 1 dead, more than 300 people hospitalized

An unidentified illness has hospitalized more than 300 people in southeastern India, including one who has died. Patients in the city of Eluru, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, reported a range of symptoms including seizures, loss of consciousness and some nausea over the weekend. Some 168 of the patients have been discharged.  The cause of illness is not known so far.

A note released by Andhra Pradesh’s Health Department said that initial blood tests did not find any evidence of a viral infection, such as dengue or chikungunya, which are both caused by mosquito bites.

Authorities are now testing water samples in Eluru for contamination, after all the patients were found to receive their water from a common source. Samples have been collected from 57,863 households and sent to a forensic laboratory.

Source: CNN