The villagers of Chittor Lotipatti in Perayur taluk of Madurai district are gripped in fear, as a mysterious fever has broke out in the locality.

The villagers claimed that three elderly people have died in the last fortnight and alleged that the cause of the deaths was due to the fever. A battery of health officials is camping in the village, but they said that the cause of the deaths was yet to be ascertained. The deceased were identified as Alagarsamy (70), Budhar (60) and Lakshmi (70).

"They were elderly people. They did not visit the hospital for treatment after falling ill. So, we are left with no medical records to find out the cause of the death," said Latha Freeda Joan, district malaria officer, who is camping in Lottipatti.

The fever has spread to many other residents too and the and panic-stricken villagers are sending their children to their relative's houses in other villages. "Yes, a number of villagers are suffering from illness. In the last fortnight, 79 people were reported with the fever. But all have recovered. Right now, only 13 people are detected with illness. Five children and three adults among the ill have been referred to the Government Rajaji Hospital," she said.

However, health officials say that they are yet to ascertain the cause of the fever or the nature of the illness. "It could be viral fever. We do not know what sparked the fever. It could be due to water contamination. We have sent samples collected from the patients to Madurai Medical College and are awaiting the test results. However, we have intensified precautionary measures," a health official said.

Chlorination of drinking water was done in the village. Health officials said that there was no incidence of the disease in neighbouring villages. "We will monitor Lottipatti for another 15 days. Meanwhile, once the lab test results come, we would provide treatment accordingly," said the health official.