Pesticide residue is the cause of mystery illness of Andhra: Experts

VIJAYWADA: The expert committee appointed to examine the cause of the mystery illness in Andhra Pradesh has found pesticide residue named organochlorine to be the prime reason. The committee included experts from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, and other premier research institutes of the country.

The experts said that their tests found lead in the blood samples of patients and nickel in all the milk samples collected from Eluru. The main cause of the disease, organochlorine, might have entered the human body in the process of food cycle. The experts also added that the exact cause of the disease can only be determined after analysing the samples of food and vegetables for a few months. Moreover, the presence of lead was also found in the blood samples of relatives of the patients.

The expert committee submitted their findings to Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, Chief Minster, Government of Andhra Pradesh, on a video conference held on Wednesday, December 16. Experts from National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, National Institute of Nutrition, and other central institutes also attended the conference.