Mystery illness claims sixth child in J&K, death toll reaches 17

An inter-ministerial team from Delhi arrived in Rajouri to conduct a survey, but the "mystery illness" continued to haunt the people of Badhaal village in J&K's Rajouri district.

On Jan 19, Mohammad Aslam's sixth child died of the disease at a hospital in Jammu, bringing the total number of deaths to 17.

After losing five of his daughters by Jan 17, Aslam witnessed the death of his sixth and final child, 16-year-old Yasmeena Akhtar Jan.

On Jan 20, she was transferred to Jammu after being hospitalized in Rajouri on Jan 19.

Dr Ashutosh Gupta, the principal of the Government Medical College and Associated Hospital (GMC&AH) in Jammu, confirmed her death and said that she had been in serious condition since the beginning.

Following a meal at a "fatiha," or memorial ceremony, held in honor of Fazal Hussain and Robia Kousar (both 14), Farhana Kousar (9), Raftar (5), and Rukhsar (11), who passed away on Dec 7 while undergoing treatment for this mysterious disease, Mohammad Aslam has now lost four daughters, two sons, and his maternal uncle and aunt in the span of a week.

In response to the deaths of two families in Dec 2024, the Union Ministry of Health had already dispatched a team of experts from prestigious medical institutes, including one from the Indian Council of Medical Research.

The team had set up camp in Koteranka with a Mobile Laboratory Vehicle to investigate the deaths and ongoing cases in Badhaal.

On Jan 18, Union Home Minister Amit Shah ordered the formation of a high-level inter-ministerial committee to visit the village in Rajouri district and determine the causes of the mass deaths that had occurred over the last six weeks.

On Jan 17, Omar Abdullah, the chief minister of J&K, reviewed the situation in Badhaal village and instructed the state health agency to expedite the investigations.

Health workers conducted door-to-door surveys of more than 3,000 people in the affected area, collecting and analyzing food, water, and other substance samples.

All test results, including for influenza, came back negative.

However, after neurotoxins were detected in the samples, police formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the mass deaths.

Authorities have sealed three of the affected families' homes, and 21 close relatives have been relocated to government housing where they are under close observation.

According to official reports, police have interrogated over 20 villagers, some of whom are connected to the victims' families.