Uranium pellets (Photo : Reuters)
A village dubbed the "Sleepy Hollow" has been struck with a mysterious illness causing them to sleep for days has already been solved as doctors were able to pinpoint the reason for such occurrence.
The village is said to be located in a remote village of Kalachi, Kazakhstan and the inhabitants of the area has been suffering from falling asleep for days without any known reason until now and they are to be relocated in a different area in order to stop the occurrence.
According to Mirror, the doctors running a research in the area found out that the people living there have been suffering from too much fluid in the brain. The doctors were not able to pinpoint the exact cause of the fluid but after four years of examinations and tests, they discovered the existence of radon gas in the area.
The Radon gas is a natural occurrence as it is an indirect decay of uranium. The gas is radioactive but is tasteless, odorless and colorless. People affected with the gas suffer from being dizzy, difficulty of standing, and memory-related problems.
Doctor Egor Korovin said in a statement that some of the villagers suffered from encephalopathy, a brain disorder. The gas that was found out by the Tomsk Polytechnic University is said to be from the former local mines in the village. Thus, the mystery illness is not caused by any virus or bacteria but the environmental factors are to be held responsible.
The village was said to be built near uranium mines that were built during the Soviet era and that these mines were abandoned with the gas that has caused the villagers to sleep for days, IBTimes reported. However, there has been no dangerous radiation levels found in the area but examinations are still ongoing.
According to Professor Leonid Rikhvanov from the Department of Geo-ecology and Geo-chemistry, "The mines left open spaces underground which were slowly filled with water that has risen upwards, driving pockets of gas inside them to the surface. The gas has a toxic effect that pushes a person into a dream like state, and the person then falls asleep."
