Official reports and local media reported that at least 1 person is dead and nearly 600 others have been hospitalized in the Indian city of Eluru in the Andhra Pradesh state due to an unidentified illness. As of now, just over 500 of the people who were initially admitted to the hospital have recovered and been discharged. Local medical reports indicate that patients have experienced a wide range of symptoms ranging from anxiety to headaches and loss of consciousness to nausea, and the person who passed away was a 45 year-old man.

As of now, the cause of the illness is still unknown and under investigation. Water samples from affected areas have not shown any signs of contamination or pathogenic invasion and patients have all tested negative for the Covid-19 coronavirus alongside other viral diseases such a chikungunya, dengue, and herpes. Health officials reported finding traces of nickel and lead in several blood samples, but have not been able to determine the source of the heavy metals, nor been able to confirm whether the excessive heavy metals resulted in the observed symptoms.

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