Mystery India illness wanes as officials search for source

BANGALORE - The number of people sickened by a mystery ailment in a southern Indian town has fallen off sharply, officials said Wednesday, as medical experts race to pinpoint the source of heavy metals in the victims' blood.

Some 578 people from Eluru in Andhra Pradesh state have been treated by authorities since Saturday, when the illness first appeared. One man died after showing symptoms of seizures, nausea and chronic pain.

The appearance of the unexplained malady initially sparked fears in the town of 200,000 people, amid heightened health alerts over the coronavirus. India is the world's second-most infected nation with more than 9.7 million cases.

Some 471 people have been discharged from hospital so far.

Eluru Government Hospital superintendent A.V. Mohan said just two people were brought in with symptoms from late Tuesday until early Wednesday, compared to the earlier rush of cases.

The state government has sampled water and air in the affected areas.

But no abnormalities, such as lead or pesticides, were found in the samples, officials said.

Mohan said Tuesday that samples taken from 10 people stricken with the illness showed high levels of lead and nickel in their blood. 

But he added that the sample was too small to be sure that the lead and nickel had caused the illness.

Vegetables, fruits and soil were also being tested, while residents in affected areas were being closely monitored by health experts. There are no major chemical factories in the region.

District officials had earlier pinpointed a possible role of chemical additives in pesticides.

Agence France-Presse

Colombian president legalizes medical marijuana

COLOMBIA - Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos on Tuesday (December 22) signed a decree that legalizes medical marijuana, a move he says does not weaken the government's fight against illicit crops and drug trafficking.

Santos said the decree allows for the therapeutic use of marijuana.

"This decree allows for the issuing of licenses for the possession of marijuana seeds and for the cultivation of the plant for exclusively medical and scientific purposes, I repeat, for exclusively medical and scientific purposes. We want to promote the research and production of medicines made from cannabis, marijuana, as we do with any natural element that can alleviate illnesses and pain," he said.

Studies show marijuana can help treat pain and nausea and offers relief for sufferers of epilepsy and other conditions.

Growing, distributing and selling cannabis remains illegal. The South American country suspended spraying of illicit crops this year, citing cancer concerns related to the herbicide glyphosate.

"To allow for the medicinal use of cannabis isn't a move in the wrong direction, it doesn't go against our international commitments to control drugs, or against our policy of fighting drug trafficking," Santos told reporters after signing the decree.

Current law allows possession of up to 20 grams (20 ml) of marijuana or 20 marijuana plants for personal use. A recent study showed 11.5 percent of Colombians have used marijuana at least once.

The government said some companies, including foreign ones, are interested in producing and selling cannabis. There are no plans to fully legalize marijuana for recreational consumption or commercial sale, however, unlike in Uruguay, which fully legalized it in 2013.

Colombia, long a hub for narcotics production and trafficking, was once home to large marijuana cultivations. Much of the crop was smuggled to the United States before drug cartels began producing the more profitable cocaine.

Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Israel and some U.S. states already allow medical cannabis use.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com