The Mystery Of The “Sleeping Sickness” Sweeping A Village In Kazakhstan

It's like a waking nightmare, but when you're asleep. So, like a regular nightmare then.

Something is happening in Kazakhstan even more disruptive and inexplicable than Borat Sagdiyev filming a new TV special.

The Guardian visited the village of Kalachi, located 480km west of the Kazakh capital Astana, where residents are suffering from an unexplained “sleeping sickness.”

Viktor Kazachenko is one such victim, after conking out while driving his motorbike on August 28. He woke up in hospital seven days later. As he describes the experience, “My brain switched off.”

The first report of a Kalachi resident falling asleep without explanation occurred in 2013. Since then, a quarter of the population – 120 people, in all – have suffered from this “sleeping sickness.”

It’s not just the sudden sleepiness, though, that’s causing concern. Dizziness, nausea, headaches and memory loss also come with this “sleeping sickness,” and sometimes the sleep classifies as an actual coma.

The level of radiation, carbon monoxide, metal salts and radon in the region have all been measured, and nothing stands out as the cause. The air, soil, water, food, animals, building materials and the residents themselves are next to be evaluated.

Kazakhstan’s president Nursultan Nazarbayev has even set up a commission to coordinate the research, which has so far conducted more than 20,000 tests, all to no avail.

(The locals have a theory: that a Soviet-era uranium mine is suddenly taking its toll. No studies have affirmed this, however.)

The situation has escalated so significantly, regional governor Sergey Kulagin has begun orchestrating the voluntary relocation of residents to a new settlement.

However, those who’ve lived in the area their entire lives are reluctant to leave. That includes Viktor Kazachenko and his wife (who was also on the motorbike when he fell asleep).

Next time you’re lamenting having to operate on only a few hours sleep, spare a thought for the residents of Kalachi, who are perpetually threatened with suddenly entering the land of nod.