Hundreds ill, 1 dead due to unidentified disease in India

[Recursion]

Source: AP

At least one person has died and 200 others have been hospitalized due to an unidentified illness in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, reports said Monday.

The illness was detected Saturday evening in Eluru, an ancient city famous for its hand-woven products. Since then, patients have experienced symptoms ranging from nausea and anxiety to loss of consciousness, doctors said.

A 45-year-old man who was hospitalized with symptoms similar to epilepsy and nausea died Sunday evening, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

Officials are trying to determine the cause of the illness. So far, water samples from impacted areas haven’t shown any signs of contamination and patients have tested negative for COVID-19.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/india-coronavirus-pandemic-fbfd61bf8ba0556f4fab986095d705de

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Hoo boy. Fainting, seizures, and frothing at the mouth.

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Sure sounds like

Flash Mad Cow Disease to me, but they don't consume beef.

[Recursion]

8. Fewer than a third of Indians are vegetarian

And particularly in the South beef is eaten fairly broadly.

[Warpy]

21. No, but it sounds more like toxicology than virology needs to solve it

Other mystery diseases in the third world have been traced to ingesting seed grain treated with things like fungicides. Desperate people will eat anything. Or someone did some illegal dumping or a factory had a leak a manager didn't want to report. These are all classic symptoms of poisoning, not illness.

[bucolic_frolic]

23. yeah, the superficial hearsay of symptoms in an article can mimic a lot of illnesses

Doctors on the scene have the best view

[LeftInTX]

26. I read a few other articles, I don't think so...

Recovery rate has been too high for something that serious. Also mad cow and similar are not this widespread and sudden.
They are looking into pesticide poisoning...

Currently, 157 patients are receiving treatment while 168 others have been discharged.

Read more at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/79609472.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

[LymphocyteLover]

2. my wife says it might be viral encephailitis

she has relatives there

[cstanleytech]

7. What about ergotism?

[Ilsa]

9. It's an agricultural area that grows some grains, but rice

appears to be the primary plant. I don't know if the fungus affects rice or grains other than rye. I wonder if there are miscarriages occurring within this group of patients?

There might be other types of toxins affecting people neurologically? Industrial? Is the illness transmitted person-to-person or through ingestion?

[Denzil_DC]

30. Ergot can affect rice and a variety of other cereals.

It was my first thought when I heard the symptoms.

[Ilsa]

31. Okay, that's helpful.

A different fungus causing toxins was responsible for numerous miscarriages and a higher than normal rate of microencephaly and anencephaly in the Rio Grande Valley 20 years ago. It was determined to have come from corn used to make masa.

[Denzil_DC]

33. From what I've been able to read,

full-blown ergotism results from relatively long-term exposure. Different strains of ergot can have different effects.

Ergotism in humans and cattle are caused by several species of Claviceps that infect rye and other cereal grains. Symptoms in humans vary greatly and are generally classified as convulsive, gangrenous, or gastrointestinal (enteric). Cattle are particularly susceptible to both gangrenous and hyperthermic ergotism (also called summer syndrome). The prevalence of ergotism has decreased as knowledge of the fungus has increased, mainly through implementation of regulations and advances in milling procedures. However, outbreaks in humans have recently occurred in lower socioeconomic populations of Ethiopia (1977 and 2001) and India (1975) with devastating results.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22903169/

Convulsive symptoms include painful seizures and spasms, diarrhea, paresthesias, itching, mental effects including mania or psychosis, headaches, nausea and vomiting. Usually the gastrointestinal effects precede central nervous system effects.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergotism

[bucolic_frolic]

24. what about staph aurea

[LymphocyteLover]

25. No idea, just communicating what she was told

[LeftInTX]

29. Common food poisoning?

Doesn't sound like it.

I had that once....Just awful, but no seizures etc. All GI. Vomiting bordered on almost projectile etc. It lasted less than 48 hours. Of course dehydration can occur...It was just awful as the vomiting was violent...

It wouldn't be in the media as "mysterious". Too common or too obvious....

[Ilsa]

32. I would think other symptoms would emerge earlier than

Neurological symptoms if it was staph aureus, like high fever, etc. But I really don't know for certain. It'll be interesting to see what they finally diagnose.

[Illumination]

3. Trying to believe 2021 will be a better year...However, it has been said that we could

experience more pandemics & mask wearing could be with us for awhile..... .....

[PatSeg]

5. Yeah

People keep wishing for 2020 to be over, but I'm afraid 2021 might be as bad or maybe even worse.

[Pacifist Patriot]

10. I'm assuming 2021 is going to be much worse so I can be pleasantly surprised.

[PatSeg]

14. Okay, there you go!

I like your attitude. That works for me.

[dhill926]

19. a pessimist is never disappointed....

[birdographer]

12. My thought, too

First thing in my head was "Is this the next one that they warned us about?"

[lastlib]

4. ..

"Hoo boy. Fainting, seizures, and frothing at the mouth."

Sounds like a tRump rally.

[csziggy]

17. Or an evangelic church meeting.

[BradBo]

6. We have enough money...

.... wasted in just Americas military that we could repurpose the materials and manpower and hit these world wide problems head on.
Pollution, over population, infrastructure, education, even disease prevention.

[Texin]

11. This sounds a great deal similar to nerve toxins.

[yaesu]

16. Thinking the same way, wonder if there are any chemical plants or dumps in the area. nt

[LeftInTX]

27. Pesticides were high on the list -according to the Times of India

DDT is still used over there...Sounds like community mosquito sprays still occur..

[yaesu]

28. yes, that makes sense, phosgene gas also comes to mind as they have had a history with it. nt

[Roc2020]

13. 2021 will be worse. What year

since 9/11 2001 have gotten better? I expect a nuclear attack somewhere in the world 2021. seriously.

[LudwigPastorius]

22. ...followed by a zombie outbreak from untested vaccine, and...

the enslavement of the human race after an alien invasion.

I'm just sayin'...if 2020 has been any indicator.

[zanana1]

15. OH COME ON!

[LudwigPastorius]

20. !

[Laelth]

18. k&r for visibility. n/t

-Laelth