Eluru mysterious illness: Jagan calls for retesting water samples, preventing use of banned pesticides

During a video conference with the authorities, Doctors and experts from AIIMS, NIN, IICT, CCMB, NCDC, and NIV, the Chief Minister asked for testing water samples to confirm if the illness is due to contamination of water.

He said the presence of organochlorine and organophosphorus is detected in blood samples and it should be definitely found how it happened. He said the state government has constituted a committee and directed to move forward coordinating with the various organizations, agencies, and experts conducting testing on the illness.

The Chief Minister said the next review meeting will be held on Wednesday to further discuss the issue. He said the special focus should be laid on preventing the usage of banned pesticides. He said and immediate action should be taken if banned pesticides are sold.

He said only pesticides and fertilizers approved by RBKs should be delivered to farmers and awareness should be created on their usage. He directed the officials to conduct tests on the pesticides being used currently and said this testing should be done for the next one month. He stressed the need for Organic farming after confirming. He said products of organic farming should be promoted. He asked the officials to collect rice samples for testing and the contamination could be due to pesticides.

The Authorities and experts of AIIMS Delhi, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, and Andhra Pradesh Municipal Department have said there is no evidence that drinking water is contaminated. The officials said only two people were fallen ill since the previous day and only 8 people in Vijayawada and 5 people in Eluru are being treated and all others are discharged from hospitals. The officials said samples are being taken from animals and sent to Bhopal for testing and added that Fish samples are also collected for testing. Tests were conducted to check for air pollution and all reports were normal.

The Expert team of AIIMS, New Delhi said 16 water samples were tested and high concentrations of lead and nickel are not found and tests were being conducted again. Nickel is detected in the primary investigation of milk and it is further being studied. Nickel and Lead were detected in Blood samples and the lead is found in Urine samples. Pesticides can also lead to this current situation as they contain heavy metals. The samples were sent to CFSL to determine the presence of organochlorine and the results are awaited, they said.

The team of Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad said 21 drinking water samples were examined and drinking water is clean. No trace of lead or organochlorine or organophosphates, they said and added that blood samples have lead and organochlorides. Presence of Organochlorine and organophosphorus is detected in Serum samples. They are of the opinion that the illness is caused by both organochlorines and organophosphorus.

The National institution of Nutrition has formed a 9 member committee and their preliminary investigations revealed that residues of pesticides are the cause of the outbreak and the research needs to be done in long run. They said further analysis of the samples is still ongoing. Mercury traces in rice are high and more testing is needed, they said, and added residues of pesticides were also found on the tomato and organophosphorus is found in the blood. They said it is yet to be identified how they entered the human body.

The Expert Committee of NEER, Hyderabad said samples of underground water are collected and being tested. Results are awaited. The officials of the Municipal department said more than 100 samples of drinking water tested, showed no traces of heavy metals, organochlorine, or organophosphorus.

The Institute of preventive medicine tested 19 water samples and found residues of pesticides in them. No traces of heavy metals are found and Ecoli in water is reported normal. AP pollution control board also conducted tests and found that gases in the atmosphere are normal.