Villagers in Kazakhstan Are Falling Asleep En Masse for No Apparent Reason

Did not find this on ATS but I am new to posting threads so sorry if its already been posted.

This is very weird, I wonder if its exposure to Uranium? I would not want to hang around that town for too long if I lived there.

Residents of a small village in Kazakhstan are falling asleep at random, sometimes for days at a time

The first outbreak of the illness occurred from March to May 2013, when around ten villagers ranging from 14 to 70 years old went to the hospital with similar symptoms.

As the Kazakhstani government and outside consultants fail on repeated pledges to figure out the cause of the epidemic, many locals are turning to conspiracy theories—like alien viruses and government experimentation. More disturbing than a cover-up, though, is the prospect that we could be dealing with a new disease or contaminant that we don't know how to test for.

Vice Lots of links to other news sources in the article

dailymail

RT

I vaguely remember hearing of an outbreak of a virus in the past, (1920"s?) that was called sleeping sickness at the time. I believe it was called encephalitis lethargica . I wonder if this is the same virus reasserting itself? These virus's reassert themselves from time to time.

Wow, S&F, that's scary as hell. I hope they find the cause soon. And, of course, a way of solving it.

Whatever it is, it's more than likely related to the 'secret city' of Krasnogorsk nearby which is supposed to be abandoned. There is a uranium mine there, which I presume is also abandoned.

The article states that the tests conducted do not suggest uranium is the cause. They have also tested the soil, the air, water, hair, blood and all the usual suspects; yet, they cannot pinpoint the cause conclusively.

Very strange phenomenon something out of a sci-fi novel or Brothers Grimm book.

originally posted by: grandmakdw
I vaguely remember hearing of an outbreak of a virus in the past, (1920"s?) that was called sleeping sickness at the time. I believe it was called encephalitis lethargica . I wonder if this is the same virus reasserting itself? These virus's reassert themselves from time to time.

It was called 'sleepy sickness', not to be confused with 'sleeping sickness'.

Isolated cases still occur, so could well be, good call.

en.m.wikipedia.org...

Oh crap, I had a dream like this where EVERYONE on earth fell asleep and died because they didn't wake up. I was the only one that didn't fall asleep...
Now I'm scared

originally posted by: Cobaltic1978
The article states that the tests conducted do not suggest uranium is the cause. They have also tested the soil, the air, water, hair, blood and all the usual suspects; yet, they cannot pinpoint the cause conclusively.

Very strange phenomenon something out of a sci-fi novel or Brothers Grimm book.

Well they did find Radon, which will cause drowsiness, so will, Benzene and arsenic and probably a heap of other stuff.
Krasnogorsk is an abandoned city, but there are still people there, they are seemingly not affected by this sleeping sickness. There has to be a cause.

a reply to: gazzerman

Radiation Poisoning (Like exposure to fissile Uranium) present a number of symptoms, and lethargy could be counted among them, but other more serious symptoms would present themselves first. Such as Nausea, Vomiting, Headaches, Dizziness, A Metallic taste in the mouth, Diarrhea, visible redness on the skin, etc.

It's true that the area around Kazakhstan has a higher than normal reading of background radiation, but that alone shouldn't cause a sickness like this. Higher BGR would tend toward more cancer cases, really.

a reply to: smurfy

Radon is in the noble gases group, the most stable isotope of Radon last for about 5 days, if I'm remembering correctly.

Being a noble gas it doesn't really react much within the body, but it's inherent radioactivity could cause some serious illness.

a reply to: Cobaltic1978

It doesn't sound like the symptoms really fit encephalitis lethargica based on what's listed in the wiki which sound like symptoms consistent with an infection (high fever, sore throat, headache, etc).

a reply to: gazzerman

this is one disease we should let spread....the whole world is in too much of a hurry...sleeping for days sounds wonderful...

I just got really intense deja vu reading this article and scrolling through the comments! Very strange. I am following to see if anyone has any knowledge of this occurring elsewhere as I feel like I have read this before.

Interesting... there have been episodes of strange epidemics whose cause remains somewhat unknown, like St. Vitus' Dance, etc., ...

But, considering the country, perhaps Borat got his hands on ruffies?

a reply to: alishainwonderland

We've had it here for quite some time. It's just that so many of us are affected we think it's normal. Over there it is still unusual.

originally posted by: HomerinNC
Oh crap, I had a dream like this where EVERYONE on earth fell asleep and died because they didn't wake up. I was the only one that didn't fall asleep...
Now I'm scared

Not as scared as the rest of us are

originally posted by: HomerinNC
Oh crap, I had a dream like this where EVERYONE on earth fell asleep and died because they didn't wake up. I was the only one that didn't fall asleep...
Now I'm scared

that might have to do with the fact you think of yourself as a more awakened individual then most, or not, maybe

there is some strange stuff going around I have felt weird since thanksgiving

Or frequencies. Sunlight has made me drowsy and prone to fall asleep at random as of recent. I'm not Kazakstanian, so if it's related it's gotta be global. Does uranium make you drowsy? If so, maybe I should get checked for radiation contamination.



a reply to: gazzerman

originally posted by: rockpaperhammock
a reply to: gazzerman

this is one disease we should let spread....the whole world is in too much of a hurry...sleeping for days sounds wonderful...

Now that, is a great idea. Mmm 30 hours sleep.

Could it just be exhaustion?