NEW DELHI: The mystery behind the outbreak of an unexplained neurological illness in Bihar's Muzaffarpur, which had claimed nearly 100 lives each year till 2014, has been solved. Some similar cases have been reported from Malda in West Bengal.According to researchers, skipping an evening meal results in night-time hypoglycaemia, or low-blood sugar, particularly in children with limited reserve of glycogen -glucose stored in liver and muscles. However, naturally-occurring toxins that are found in litchis --hypoglycin A and methylenecyclopropylglycine (MPCG) - disrupt the fatty acid metabolism, leading to acutely low levels of blood sugar. Most of them had consumed litchis and parents said they had missed the evening meal the previous day . "This study, to the best of our knowledge, is the largest investigation of the Muzaffarpur outbreak and the first comprehensive confirmation that this recurring outbreak illness is associated with litchi consumption and toxicity from both hypoglycin A and MPCG.

Source: Times of India February 01, 2017 00:00 UTC