Harmless fruit could kill if eaten on empty stomach

The curious case of mysterious deaths in India's Muzaffarpur left most of the epidemic researchers and doctors puzzled. The number of the deceased seemed to be growing at a fast pace with no valid rhyme or reason.

Over the past three years, when summer was at its peak in mid-May, there were many instances of children waking up with convulsions, high fever and loud cries. Not just kids, young and healthy individuals used to complain of sudden seizures and inexplicably slip into a coma. As strange as it sounds, the problem would automatically stop from July onwards, with the onset of monsoon, reports Indian Express. Some attributed it to heat stroke, others credited it to pest infections and pesticide poisoning. But, no one could solve the bizarre outbreak in India. Leaving no fixed pattern, it would strike any random child without showing any visible trace of symptom in his siblings or playmates. Struggling to search for an explanation, Dr Rajesh Yadav, an investigator with the India Epidemic Intelligence Service, moved to the city of Muzaffarpur and closely observed the cycle of events for three long years. The reason has finally been unearthed, and it’s shocking. A joint investigation published by India’s National Center for Disease Control and the India office of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta published a report identifying the cause of this phenomenon. Turns out, the otherwise harmless fruit, lychee, when consumed on an empty stomach by malnourished children leads to death. In 2015, when health officials instructed parents to feed a healthy evening meal to their children instead of the fruit, the number of deaths subsequently dropped down to almost 50 per cent .