Study reveals cause of mysterious disease in Muzaffarpur district
Patna,(BiharTimes): A new study has revealed that the consumption of litchi in empty stomach led to the spread of mysterious disease which caused the death of hundreds of children every year till 2014 in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar. The disease spreads in the months of May and June.
Besides, the fruit trigger low blood glucose levels in malnourished children who skipped evening meals leading to fatal outcomes.
The study has solved the mystery behind the outbreak of an unexplained neurological illness.
The study was done by a collaboration of scientists from Centre for Disease Control in the United States and its Indian counterpart, the National Centre for Disease Control.
The study was published in the journal The Lancet on January 30, the study claims to be the first comprehensive confirmation that the recurring outbreak of acute encephalopathy––a general description for disorders of the brain – is associated with toxic compunds found in the litchi fruit. Hypoglycin A and methylene cyclopropyl-glycin1e or MCPG are toxins in the litchi.
A similar findings was reported a year ago in the Indian journal *Current Science *by a team of Indian scientists led by T Jacob John, epidemiologist at the Christian Medical College in Vellore.
In 2013, John was invited by the Bihar government to investigate what was happening in Muzaffarpur. “Our systemic study showed that the disease was no mystery, nor was it acute encephalitis syndrome. It was acute encephalopathy with the hypothesis that it was caused by malnutrition plus litchi,” John said.
In May 2014, John along with Dr Mukul Das, biochemist at the Indian Institute of Toxicology Research in Lucknow, published a paper in Current Science.
