Amit Shah,Union Home Minister
The cause of the illness remains unidentified, despite extensive efforts by medical experts and organizations such as PGIMER Chandigarh, the National Institute of Virology, and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)
New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has ordered the constitution of an inter-ministerial team to visit a village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district to ascertain the causes of deaths in three incidents in the past six weeks.
The team will be headed by a senior Union home ministry officer and consist of experts from the ministries of health and family welfare, agriculture, chemicals and fertilisers, and water resources, according to an official statement.
The team will also be assisted by experts from the animal husbandry, food safety and forensic science labs.
The central team will proceed on Sunday and, in collaboration with the local administration, also work on providing immediate relief as well as taking precautionary measures to prevent such incidents in the future, according to the statement.
Experts from some of the most reputable institutions in the country have been arranged to manage the situation and understand the causes of the deaths.
At least 16 people have died of a mysterious illness in the Budhal village of Rajouri district in the past 45 days.
People complained of fever, pain, nausea and loss of consciousness before dying within days of their admission to hospitals. A girl continues to remain critical.
Earlier, a Jammu and Kashmir government spokesperson said investigations and samples empirically indicated that the incidents were not due to a communicable disease of bacterial or viral origin and that there is no public health angle.
A mysterious disease has caused widespread panic in Badhal village, with 16 reported fatalities and 38 affected individuals since early December 2024.
The cause of the illness remains unidentified, despite extensive efforts by medical experts and organizations such as PGIMER Chandigarh, the National Institute of Virology, and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
On Saturday one woman from Badhaal Village was admitted to the Government Medical College (GMC) after showing symptoms of a mysterious illness.
Authorities are on high alert, with the Rajouri district administration, health department, and police working in coordination to investigate the deaths and provide assistance to the affected families. The outbreak has primarily impacted three interlinked families in the village.
In the absence of concrete information regarding the cause of the disease, efforts to implement targeted measures have been hindered, leaving local authorities to intensify their investigations and preventive actions in a race against time to avoid further casualties.
The medical team present there is also inspecting the chaotic situation of ‘mysterious illness’.
An official said “We’re closely monitoring the situation. Reports of illnesses and deaths due to a mysterious disease will be available within 8-10 days. Medical assistance has been provided in 4 wards, and door-to-door counselling and surveillance are ongoing. ICMR has collected samples, and we’re taking daily samples. Doctors are available 24/7, and village surveillance has been ongoing since December 7.”
Another member of the team said, “From a pediatric perspective, all necessary tests have been conducted. The symptoms and progression of the illness have been observed. The ill children’s condition deteriorates rapidly within 2-3 days, leading to coma and eventually death despite ventilation. Notably, these incidents are confined to three specific families, suggesting a non-infectious cause. Therefore, there’s no need for the general public to worry.”
The situation continues to evolve, with all relevant departments committed to identifying the origin of the disease and ensuring the safety of the local population.