Foreign Affairs

Unidentified Disease Has Sickened Hundreds, Killed 1 In Southern India

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Hundreds have been hospitalized and at least one person has died in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh after contracting an unidentified illness, reports from Indian outlets said Monday.

The disease was first spotted in Eluru, a city close to India’s eastern coast with approximately 200,000 people. Since Saturday, patients have experienced a range of symptoms including nausea, vomiting and loss of consciousness, doctors said, and one 45-year-old man who experienced epilepsy-like seizures and nausea died Sunday evening, according to the Press Trust of India news agency.

Health officials have so far been unable to determine the cause of the illness, and water samples from impacted areas have not shown any signs of contamination, the Press Trust reported. Those sick have also tested negative for COVID-19 and other viruses including dengue and herpes, the Associated Press reported.

Chandarababu Naidu, an opposition leader in India, called for an “impartial, full-fledged inquiry” into the outbreak on Twitter.

With more than 250 people now affected, the situation in #Eluru is worsening. I demand an impartial, full-fledged inquiry into the incident. Floods, cyclone or healthcare, the YSRCP Govt has been caught napping in emergency situations. (1/3)

— N Chandrababu Naidu #StayHomeSaveLives (@ncbn) December 6, 2020

Andhra Pradesh state has also been ravaged by the coronavirus, with over 850,000 recorded cases and nearly 7,000 deaths.

India as a whole has recorded the second-most cases of any country, with its case count nearing 9.5 million. Over 140,000 in the country have died from the virus, according to a Johns Hopkins University database.