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A team of scientists from India and the US is linking a mysterious disease that has killed a hundred Indian children after eating lychees on an empty stomach. The kids were healthy prior to the incident but later suffered from sudden seizures and lost consciousness after eating lychees.

According to BBC, the children were from a region of Bihar in India. The death toll was half of the total number of children in the area that suffered from complications after eating the fruit on an empty stomach. Studies suggest that the children were poisoned by the fruit.

Most of the children came from the poor communities of India. The area was one of the country's main lychee-producing region. The children apparently ate the fruits that fell on the grounds of the orchard. These fruits were found out to contain toxins that can produce glucose that generally affected the blood sugar levels of the children. The blood sugar levels of the children were already low in the first place because they did not eat dinner.

Later that day, the children reportedly suffered from convulsions and lost consciousness due to the acute swelling of their brains. Back in 2014, several children were also brought to the Muzaffarpur Hospital. They exhibit the same symptoms that the children in India had after eating lychees. It was later discovered that the fruit contains hypoglycin, a toxin that prevents the body from producing glucose.

Researches are now suggesting that parents should limit their children's intake of the fruit and ensure that they are fed prior to eating lychees, The Independent UK reports.

A research was later published after the incident and revealed that possible poisoning can be experienced after eating too many lychees on an empty stomach. Prior to the discover, the deaths in the area were blamed on heat stroke, infections from rats and pesticides used in the lychee orchards.