Minamata disease, sometimes referred to as Chisso-Minamata disease, is a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning. Symptoms include ataxia, numbness in the hands and feet, general muscle weakness, narrowing of the field of vision and damage to hearing and speech. A sort of ‘blue baby syndrome' can also be caused by methemoglobinemia. It is widely believed to be caused by nitrate contamination in groundwater resulting in decreased oxygen carrying capacity of haemoglobin in babies leading to death. The groundwater can be contaminated by leaching of nitrate generated from fertilizers used in agricultural lands, waste dumps or pit latrines