Eluru, a town of Andhra Pradesh with a population of over 3 lakhs, has been left shaken by a ‘mystery’ illness that has affected over 500 people since Saturday evening. In most cases, the symptoms were the same: seizures, followed by loss of consciousness; and the recovery was quick and they were ready to be discharged within a couple of hours.

State Health Minister A K Krishna Srinivas said of the 510 people who were affected, 430 had been discharged. One death has been reported so far. “I am appealing to people not to panic. The number of patients has come down; less than 40 were reported today. I know people are scared. We are trying to understand what caused it,” he said.

Traces of lead and nickel are present in the blood of the people who contracted the mystery illness in Andhra Pradesh’s Eluru, doctors from the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences have found.

“More tests are being conducted by the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology and other institutes and the results are expected soon,” the Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy said.

Mr. Reddy who visited the hospital in Eluru yesterday where 150 odd patients are admitted met the Governor on Tuesday to discuss the situation. After Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan’s advice to take the help of Central institutes, teams were flown in from Delhi’s AIIMS, the National Institute of Nutrition, the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), and the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology.