Dayao, one of the regions in Yunnan Province heavily stricken by the magnitude 6 earthquake on July 9, has been cloaked by mysterious deaths since 2005.

The Chinese CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) is investigating the deaths, which currently total 38.

According to China’s state-controlled news agency Xinhua, the mysterious deaths occurred in the village of Aiki Jiu of Dayao, Yunnan Province. This is a village of the Yi ethnic group, which was severely impacted by the earthquake.

Zheng Fu, a 55-year-old local villager, revealed that since the first death in 1995, a total of 38 people have died from an unknown and sudden cause. He personally witnessed six individuals who suddenly died at his side.

According to Fu, the sudden deaths occurred in July and August of each year, especially after a heavy rain. The victims, who died suddenly and quickly, were mainly young and middle-aged.

On July 7, 1995, six people died from two of his neighboring families. Three died the next year. In 2002, as many as eight people died.

Villager, Lee Fuzhai’s family of five all died within three years. Lee himself passed away suddenly while smoking a water pipe.

The Local Disease Control Department (LDCD) confirmed these incidences. Accordingly, local officials investigated the water, soil, and air, but could not identify the cause.

Officials initially suspected viral myocarditis, but later ruled it out. The mysterious disease is now temporarily named after the geographical source and called the Aiki Jiu Disease.

It is reported that in January 2007, the China CDC conducted a survey on the sudden deaths in Shi Young Town where the Aiki Jiu village is located. In May 2008, the CDC and experts from Beijing’s Fuwai Hospital examined villagers’ hearts. The exact etiology and pathogenesis of the sudden deaths remain unknown.

Read the original article in Chinese