Eluru: 332 Patients Discharged

ELURU: Even as the cause of the mystery disease is baffling health experts, which has left more than 475 people infected since Monday night, the positive news is that 332 of them have recovered and been discharged from the Eluru Government hospital. As of now, 125 are being treated at the hospital and another 18 of them were shifted to Vijayawada and Guntur for better treatment. Of the total victims, 253 were men and 222 were women.

Eluru District Coordinator of Health Services,  AVR Mohan said teams of doctors and scientists from various institutes in the country had arrived here to monitor the situation. He said that at present, the number of new cases was on the decline and patients are being discharged after treatment. He said teams from various institutes in the country were coming to check the issue and collect samples.

Pesticide and e-coli test results are awaited and health authorities have been deployed all over Eluru to find out the cause of the disease. Multiple teams of experts from premier scientific institutions of the country are on to the job to determine the exact cause of the disease. Teams of experts from the National Institute of Nutrition and Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad reached Eluru on Monday and collected various samples for analysis.

Water and milk samples were also sent to the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad for analysis, sources in the Medical and Health Department said.

Another team drafted by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will be arriving in Eluru on Tuesday for a study and possibly determine the cause of the mysterious disease. A team from the Indian Council of Medical Research is also expected to visit the State soon.

As part of this, a delegation from the World Health Organization (WHO) also arrived on Tuesday. The team will tour the town for three days and conduct studies to determine the cause of the disease.

Deputy Chief Minister Alla Nani who has been camping in the town ever since the outbreak is reviewing the situation from time to time. Medical and Health Commissioner Katamaneni Bhaskar along with senior officials of the medical department and medical experts are monitoring the situation in Eluru. Alla Nani, Denduluru MLA K Abbayya Chowdhury, along with Medical and Health Commissioner Katamaneni Bhaskar and Collector R Muthyalaraju reviewed the latest situation on Monday night. They also stated that 250 beds in nine wards were kept ready at the Government Hospital and steps have been taken to make another 50 beds available.

The Government has taken concrete steps to ensure that the people are provided with proper medical care. A total of 84 medical camps have been set up in the 62 Ward Secretariats in the town.

A nodal officer has been appointed to monitor referral cases from Eluru to Vijayawada and Guntur Government Hospitals. Steps have been taken to carry out deep sanitation in 32 divisions from Tuesday. Special attention is being paid to prevent any leaks in the drinking water pipes and to rectify the faults in the drainage system.

Arrangements have been made for 108 ambulances in areas where a large number of cases were reported. Patients who were referred to Vijayawada are being treated, and their health condition is stable now, said Vijayawada Government Hospital Superintendent Dr. K Sivasankara Rao.

The outbreak started in the 1 Town area of Eluru in Godavari district where people affected by the mysterious illness complained of epileptic fits, vomiting, headache, and back pain. Most of the victims were in the 20-30 age group while there were about 45 children below the age of 12 years. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday visited the Government General Hospital and interacted with those afflicted by the mysterious disease even as the number of patients rose and conducted a review meeting to assess the situation and the way forward.

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