Komirepalli (Andhra Pradesh): Following the emergence of mysterious illness cases in Eluru in December and Pulla recently, similar ailments appear to have spread to Komirepalli village in Andhra Pradesh’s West Godavari district Friday.
Komirepalli is 17 km south-west of Pulla, where around 30 cases emerged recently, with symptoms such as fainting, frothing, convulsions, vomiting, among others.
Health Minister Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas said upto 22 cases emerged in Komirepalli village since Thursday midnight, which is 15 km north east of Eluru , where hundreds of such cases had earlier shocked the nation.
On Friday, chief secretary Aditya Nath Das and other senior officials visited the homes of people who fell sick to the mysterious illness which is plaguing the district regularly.
Das spoke to the patients and tried to understand how they contracted the disease which is causing people to suddenly collapse.
“As people are panicking, the chief minister told us to immediately go visit the place and review the situation. What should be the next course of action and to instill some assurance to the patients,” said Das.
He said that the government is taking the matter very seriously as it is recurring soon after similar incidents in Eluru and Pulla.
“We have taken all the samples. We have not found anything in the water. We will check the earlier reports, including the current one,” he said.
Das said the government is striving to provide immediate relief to the people affected.
Srinivas said seven ambulances were kept on standby, along with two medical camps, 10 medical officers and ANMs in the village.
To cater to serious cases, a special ward has been arranged in Eluru.
According to the health minister, Komirepalli has a population of 700 which has seen the cases emerge from a certain pocket.
He said six people who suffered the illness recovered from it already and most of them are doing fine now.
Srinivas and local Denduluru MLA Abbaya Chowdary met some of the victims at their homes and spoke to them.
“Some victims said they ate chicken, some vegetables. Even in the case of food, there was no common pattern such as people eating at one specific function or a hotel,” said the minister.
Earlier on Friday, Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy reviewed the situation and dispatched Das and other senior officials to Komirepalli.
Meanwhile, Srinivas expressed anguish that some Janasena cadres tried to block the relief operations as officials were struggling to move the patients for treatment.
IANS