One person has died and 340 people have been hospitalised since Saturday (December 5), after mysteriously falling ill in the south Indian city of Eluru.

Footage from December 6 shows distressed patients in hospital beds.

A mysterious disease that began spreading in Eluru in southern India claimed one life on December 6 and made at least 350 others ill.

The toll is likely to climb as the baffling illness continued to spread on December 7 as well.

The cause of the disease remains a mystery as people are suddenly falling unconscious after showing symptoms of fits, nausea and headache.

Officials have ruled out water and air contamination as the cause of the unknown disease and have sent samples of patients to labs for testing.

A 45-year-old man who was admitted to a government hospital in Vijayawada on December 6 with symptoms of nausea and epilepsy died in the evening.

But the majority of the people recovered within a few minutes. Officials said more than 140 of the patients had returned home after treatment while the condition of others was stable.

Special teams of doctors have been rushed to Eluru to treat the victims while a house-to-house survey has been undertaken to identify prospective patients.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy visited Eluru on December 7. Andhra Pradesh was also one of the worst Covid 19 affected states in India.