Undiagnosed illness claims 8 lives in J&K’s Rajouri

With another child dying of a mysterious disease on Dec 18, the number of deaths from an unknown illness in a village in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district has gone up to eight.

In the wake of this, authorities now set up a central team of experts to investigate the cases and fatalities in the affected Badhaal village of Kotranka tehsil.

A Biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) mobile laboratory has been dispatched to Rajouri to expedite testing and identify the illness, officials were quoted as saying. Ashfaq Ahmed (12), passed away on Dec 18 after being hospitalized at the Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu for six days, officials were quoted as saying.

Ashfaq's younger siblings— Ishtiyaq (7) and Nazia (5)— died on Dec 12.

With the death of Ashfaq, the number of fatalities in has reached eight. All the deceased belonged to two families from the same village.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Rajouri, Abhishek Sharma, visited Kotranka on Dec 16 to assess the ground situation in Badhaal village, where eight people, including six children under the age of 14, have died due to an unidentified illness.

"In the wake of the emerging situation, a Biosafety Level 3 mobile laboratory has been sent to Rajouri. Additionally, a central team of experts has been constituted to assist the Union Territory administration in investigating the cases and fatalities," an official spokesperson was quoted as saying.

Efforts are being made to understand the exact kind of illness that has been spreading, an officials was quoted as saying.

“The deployment of the mobile laboratory is a crucial step in that direction as it will help in rapid testing and analysis. It is expected to help prevent further spread,” he added.