ELURU: Till Saturday, 603 out of the 612 persons who were sickened by a ‘mystery illness’ in the West Godavari headquarters, have recovered. On November 30, 13-year-old B Venkata Rama Krishna from Dakshina Veedhi in Eluru was admitted to a private hospital after he suddenly felt sick.
However, officials confirmed that the first case of illness (36-year-old P Radha, a resident of the same locality) was reported on December 5. “I cannot recall what exactly happened to me on that day. I woke up and had breakfast at 8 am as usual. After washing my hands, I felt dizzy and sat on the bed and all of a sudden suffered a seizure,” Ramakrishna told TNIE.
The youngster’s health deteriorated fast as he began frothing at the mouth. “After staying under doctor’s observation for 24 hours where I was given oxygen support, I started recovering and was discharged from the hospital on December 1. MRI and ECG scan reports were also normal. A team of health officials and ward secretariat staff are thoroughly monitoring my condition and providing necessary medical support,” he said.
“I am still suffering from weakness even after a week of falling sick,” Radha said, adding she was continuing with the medication prescribed by the doctors to control seizures. Another victim, S Yuva Kishore (14), who was admitted to a hospital on December 5 recovered on Saturday. Samples collected from his blood and back bone were normal and he is continuing with the medicines to overcome the weakness.
Health secretary of the 49th ward, B Adi Lakshmi, said her division has a population of 3,500 and the first case of the mystery illness in Dakshina Veedhi was reported on December 5. “A medical camp was arranged at the ward secretariat immediately. In all, 17 cases were recorded in the ward and all of the patients have been discharged from the hospitals.”