‘People fear eating, drinking and going outside’: anxiety stalks Indian village after mystery illness kills 17 people

Initial suspicions of food poisoning have been ruled out but the authorities are taking no chances as they wait for lab results in the search for a cause“My daughter came to me, tugging at my shirt, and asked, ‘Baba, if we drink water, will we die too?’ What could I say to her?” Talib Hussain’s voice shakes as he describes the impact of 17 unexplained deaths in his village, including 13 children, in a matter of weeks.“I’ve lived here for more than 50 years but I’ve never seen anything like this. In the last two months, I have witnessed 17 funerals. It’s more than we could ever comprehend. People fear eating, drinking, and even going outside. Our neighbourhood is being torn apart.” Continue reading...