Azernews.Az

By Aynur Karimova

Residents of the small village of Kalachi in the Akmolinsk district in Kazakhstan may have never read Washington Irving’s ‘Legend of Sleepy Hollow,’ but they are suffering from the ‘Sleepy Hollow,’ a mysterious illness.

Many people in Kalachi have been suffering from the so-called "sleep epidemic" over the past years. They fall asleep at random.

Over the summer, 60 people were taken to hospital suffering from the disorder which leaves people feeling dizzy, unable to stand, fatigued and with memory problems. Some have also reported suffering from vivid hallucinations.

Also, soon after beginning of the new school year on September 1, eight children went into hibernation. Having come back home from school, they were literally collapsed, parents said.

After waking up, the victims do not return to their normal lifestyle. Adults complain of memory lapses and headaches, while children show very little activity.

"When you try to wake them up, they try to open their eyes – but can't. They are sleeping and sleeping..."

"I'm weak, my legs feel heavy, as if I'm wearing a hundred pairs of boots, and my head is spinning." Other patients behave in a way "as if like they're drunk." It's difficult to warn others and ask for help, as "your tongue gets twisted."

Despite numerous attempts to find the cause of the inexplicable disorder, the ‘Sleepy Hollow’ remains unresolved.

The majority believe that the illness is caused by the wind blowing from the Soviet-era uranium mine. In Soviet times, the village was deemed top secret due to uranium mining, closed in the 1990s.

In March 2014, some radon gas in the environment possibly linked to the mine was detected. But Krasnogorsk, a village which is located closer to the mines has reported no cases of sleeping sickness.

"People worked in mines for so many years, and no one fell asleep," former miners say.

Local experts believe that airborne viruses and bacterial infections have been eradicated in the country. Doctors have already eradicated viruses and bacterial infections like meningitis.

Some locals claim that the wind and smoke coming from the mines may be responsible for the illness. Others blame toxic waste buried in the area.

Specialists excluded infectious and bacterial factors and assured that the radiation background in the village was within normal limits. The maximum permissible concentration of salt and heavy metals was not exceeded.

Scientists have also been unable to find any chemicals in the soil or water that might be causing the sleeping sickness. There is no clear answer yet for this problem.

Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova

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