OREANDA-NEWS. Joshi Roy, an Indian inspector of the Western Godavari District, told RIA Novosti that the mysterious disease that struck several hundred residents of the city of Eluru in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh is not associated with the coronavirus pandemic.

Local sources report that an outbreak of an unknown disease in the city of Ken and its environs began last Sunday. The disease led to the death of one person, the total number of those infected, according to the agency's interlocutor, exceeded 800 people. Symptoms of the disease include dizziness, epilepsy, and sudden fainting, foam at the mouth and shivering Local authorities say the unknown disease does not spread from person to person.

As Dollar Joshi Roy noted, local authorities suspect that water pollution with heavy metals, organophosphates and pesticides could have caused the disease.

The state is still trying to determine the cause of the disease, the inspector said. Those infected underwent computed tomography and passed tests for coronavirus, however, studies revealed that the disease is not related to COVID-19, since all infected have negative coronavirus test results.

Based on the results of blood tests, cerebrospinal fluid and computed tomography of the patient's brain, it has not yet been possible to establish the cause of the disease. The Times of India reported that toxic organochlorines and mosquito repellents could be another possible cause of an unknown disease in humans.

He added that areas with reported cases of the disease are in a "psychological crisis", the authorities are trying to cope with the panic among the population through "effective communication."