INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
VIJAYAWADA: Even as the number of fresh cases of “mystery illness” has come down to 12 on Wednesday and only 44 affected persons are
still undergoing treatment, a deadly combination of neurotoxins and organochlorine are prime suspects for the confounding disease that has
caught national and even international attention.State health authorities maintain that these substances found in hydrocarbon pesticides
such as DDT can turn poisonous, affecting nervous tissues in human body
This could be why affected people are developing convulsions for a brief period, being getting back to normalcy after some time. Several
reputed central agencies like All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), National Centre for
Disease Control (NCDC), Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) and World Health
Organisation (WHO) are working on finding the source of such poisonous substances entering the human body and affecting nervous system.The
AIIMS report has already confirmed presence of lead in the blood of affected people in its preliminary report after testing 10 patients
It is, however, yet to come up with its report of analysing milk samples. NCDC has started its investigations to find out reasons for the
It is also collecting samples from blood and urine of cattle, as they are exposed to pesticide either through their feed or through
consumption of contaminated water
In such a case, their milk may contain residues of pesticide
Humans, who consume such milk even after boiling, have a chance of getting infected with pesticide residues.NCDC is also collecting samples
of crops like paddy and others to test them for any presence of pesticide remnants in them
This is because those who consume food cooked with such crops may get infected
It is also searching for warehouses, where huge quantities of pesticides are stored to check any chance of their leakage or spillage that
may find their way into drains, canals and other water bodies, especially owing to recent spell of heavy rains and floods
Soil may have got contaminated with residues of pesticides in the process. Health authorities say that all these grounds will be subject to
Truth can be established once test reports from several central agencies are out.Health director Dr
Geeta Prasadini said, “We will be able to know the exact reason for the cause of mystery illness very shortly
Several central agencies have collected samples of blood, urine, water, milk and crops, among others
These are being testing at present and their reports are awaited.”
