Left leaders visit Eluru hospital, demand probe into 'mysterious' disease, compensation

West Godavari (Andhra Pradesh) [India], December 9 (ANI): Left leaders, including Communist Party of India (Marxist) state Secretary P Madhu and CPI state secretary K Ramakrishna on Tuesday visited Eluru hospital in Andhra Pradesh where hundreds of people were admitted with "mysterious" disease recently.
The leaders demanded an immediate investigation into the matter and proper medical attention to the patients.
"More than 500 people have fallen sick. The government should take up this issue on a war footing and investigate this disease in Eluru. People here are complaining about sanitation. Where is the contamination? The government should find out the reason," Madhu told ANI
Ramakrishna demanded compensation for the affected. "It is very astonishing to hear this news, especially amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. People have been suffering for the last three-four days. One person has died and several are in the hospital. The government must give a compensation of Rs 50 lakh to the family of the deceased person and Rs 50,000 to those who have been hospitalised."
He alleged not enough measures are being taken even after the chief minister visited the hospital. "Some are saying that this is a neurological problem. Despite Eluru being very close to Vijayawada and Guntur, people are not receiving the required medical attention. We demand that neurosurgeons should check the patients," Ramakrishna told ANI.
As many as 77 were undergoing treatment at the hospital till late Tuesday when the last reports came. "We feel another 20 may be discharged by (Wednesday) morning. The cases are coming down. The severity of symptoms is also coming down," Dr Mohan of Eluru hospital told the media on Tuesday.
Over 350 have been hospitalised with complaints of giddiness and epilepsy since Saturday night.
Earlier in the day, a nine-member team of the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Hyderabad, collected samples of water, milk, rice, and vegetables available in the town, along with blood and urine of patients.
"They visited the places in the town where the cases had developed. The team collected samples of water, milk, rice and vegetables from those places," said NIN scientist and team leader J J Babu.
A report released by the West Godavari district collector on Monday said one person died due to an unknown disease. Besides, a household health survey has been conducted in 57,863 houses to shed light on the matter, said the report. (ANI)