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Mysterious Disease With No Explanation Has Doctors Stumped

Mysterious Disease With No Explanation Has Doctors Stumped


For the past two years, the residents of the Kalachi village in Kazakhstan have been falling into unexplained bouts of sleep. Without any apparent cause, the residents of the village simply black out. The coma can last several hours. In extreme cases they’ve been known to sleep for three days straight. The reason? Unknown. Following the slumber, citizens awaken with a high blood pressure and other serious health implications, including nausea, dizziness, splitting headaches and memory loss.

Both national and international scientists are growing increasingly perplexed with this strange condition. It has been said that the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in America had sent experts to explore the area. When questioned, U.S. authorities refused to confirm if this was the case.

Today, a total of 152 cases have been diagnosed. Still, most citizens of Kalachi refuse to relocate despite the government’s coaxing. The sleeping epidemic continues and numbers increase each month.

Scientists’ first hypothesis linked the sickness to increased levels of radiation. But tests came out negative, since the area’s levels of radiation are within the normal range. Just as are the carbon monoxide and radon levels. According to the villagers, the most plausible explanation is the “ghost uranium mine” that lies in the outskirts of town. A complete ruin, abandoned since the 1990’s. However, there are no records that show miners from Soviet times suffering from the sleeping disease, and the residents living nearest to the mine aren’t especially affected in comparison to the rest.

Local authorities continue their fruitless search for viable causes and treatments. Prime minister Karim Masimov has set up a team to coordinate the research. More than 20,000 lab tests have been conducted on air, soil, water, animals…even the residents themselves. Yet today the mystery remains unsolved.