There’s Now a Mystery Illness in India That Has Affected Over 450 People & Killed 1 Person

If 2020 were a human and underwent a psychological evaluation, it would almost certainly be diagnosed as a psychopath.

Besides torturing us with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, 2020 has repeatedly dangled happiness in front of us only to snatch it away at the very last moment.

Singaporeans and Hongkongers, for instance, were supposed to travel to each other’s country for fun and relaxation, but 2020 took that away from them.

Recently, two Covid-19 vaccines were found to be around 95% effective, paving the way for mass vaccination programmes across the globe.

This could spell the beginning of the end for the coronavirus.

So, what does 2020 do?

Give us a new disease to deal with, of course.

There’s Now a Mystery Illness in India That Has Affected Over 450 People & Killed 1 Person

A mystery illness in India has killed one and left over 450 people in the hospital.

The unidentified disease emerged in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, a state already hard hit by the coronavirus, with more than 800,000 detected cases.

Those with the illness have complained of symptoms such as dizziness, fainting spells, headache, and vomiting.

Some even experienced seizures and foamed at the mouth.

Sadly, a 45-year-old man who was hospitalised with symptoms similar to epilepsy died on Sunday evening (6 Dec).

Dolla Joshi Roy, a district surveillance officer, told The Guardian that specialist doctors are scrambling to determine the cause of this disease and are waiting for results from the labs.

“It could be food or waterborne or airborne or some other condition. But we do know this was very localised, the people affected all lived in the same city.”

All patients of the mystery illness tested negative for Covid-19, so this isn’t some twisted variant of the coronavirus.

What could it be then?

Substances Used in Pesticides Or Mosquito Control Could Have Caused Deaths

In a twist that no one saw coming, the cause of the mystery illness could be organochlorines used as pesticides or in mosquito control.

Indian lawmaker GVL Narasimha Rao said the “most likely cause is poisonous organochlorine substances”, after speaking with medical experts.

However, they are still awaiting test reports to confirm the cause, according to Reuters.

Organochlorines are banned or restricted in many countries as studies have shown a link between exposure to organochlorines and diseases such as cancer, as well as other health risks.

Exposure to the substance over a short period can induce convulsions, headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and tremors, symptoms similar to those suffered by the patients of the mystery illness.

Traces of lead and nickel particles have since been found in the blood samples of the patients.

No new serious cases have been reported in the past 24 hours. 200 of the 455 patients have since been discharged.

Let’s hope that it’s nothing serious.

Featured Image: PradeepGaurs / Shutterstock.com