Mysterious illness toll rises to 14 as another minor dies, neurotoxins found in samples

In a development that has left the Health Department of J&K baffled, another child succumbed to the mysterious disease at a government hospital in Jammu on Tuesday. This marks the fifth death due to the unidentified illness since Sunday and the 14th since last month.

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Meanwhile, during a meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo with experts on Tuesday, it was revealed that certain neurotoxins were found in the samples of the deceased, which are being further investigated.

On Sunday and Monday, three minors and a 62-year-old man, all residents of Badhaal village in Rajouri district, lost their lives. The new fatality, a minor female, was admitted to the government hospital in Jammu and passed away on Tuesday afternoon. The female, along with the three minors who died earlier, are children of Mohammad Aslam.

Despite over a month passing since the fatalities began, the Health Department of J&K has been unable to determine the actual cause of death. Aggressive contact tracing has now been initiated in the village. Surprisingly, all the deceased come from three inter-related families, and no other villagers have been reported to be ill.

In total, 11 minors and three adults have died from the mystery illness. However, medical negligence was alleged to be the cause of the death of a pregnant woman last month.

While the Health Department had previously ruled out viral infections as the cause of the deaths, the ongoing contact tracing of the affected families has left many puzzled.

An official from the district administration in Rajouri informed that, in response to the recent tragic deaths in Badhaal, Deputy Commissioner Abhishek Sharma is personally monitoring the situation to ensure timely intervention and mitigation.

Additional DC Kotranka, Dil Mir, also visited the affected area to oversee the ongoing efforts. “Under the direction of the district administration, aggressive contact tracing and sampling are being carried out. 272 samples were taken on Monday to identify potential health risks.”

A team of experts from the National Centre of Disease Control (Delhi) and the Institute of Epidemiology (Chennai) will arrive to further investigate the situation.