P. Sarojini
Hyderabad, India (CWBN)_ Following the Eluru mystery illness in Andhra Pradesh, researches and tests are being conducted by numerous experts and organizations around the country. The reports from experts of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) and other well-known institutions state that pesticide residues may be the main cause for the mystery illness outbreak in Eluru City, in the West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.
The experts disclosed their results to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy during a video conference meeting held on Wednesday. As a preventive action, the Chief Minister directed further tests so that events such as Eluru illness will not be replicated in the future and also instructed to test the samples of drinking water sources all over the district.
Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy stated, ”The samples should be collected systematically and should be analysed with experts. All these tests should be analysed and necessary measures should be taken accordingly”. The Chief Minister also asked that AIIMS and IICT perform a more in-depth analysis on the long-term effects of Eluru’s enigmatic disease and ordered the Chief Secretary to sketch a plan to proceed further. He also mentioned, “Agriculture department should focus on withdrawing harmful pesticides from the market”.
Laboratory tests from AIIMS Delhi showed the presence of heavy metals like lead and nickel in drinking water and milk as the main cause of the enigmatic Eluru disease that is threatening the whole district.
IICT researchers after testing 21 water samples as well as human and animal blood samples did not find any signs of heavy metals such as lead, nickel, and arsenic, nor residues of pesticides. But in the blood samples, Endosulfan and DDD were found.
Dr Ashish, representative of the World Health Organization (WHO), said that the priority should be given to discover how pesticide residues reached the human body, and that the government-constituted committee should proceed research on it.
