Final report on Rajouri deaths may take time, say health authorities
Even as nine days have passed since the ‘mysterious’ death of five members of a family in a Rajouri village, the authorities are nowhere near to find out the reason behind these casualties.
The total death toll at Badhaal village in Kotranka sub-division later reached seven as two other minors also died on December 12 after developing similar symptoms.
While the symptoms earlier appeared to be that of food poisoning, health authorities now believe that it might be a case of some viral infection. While the local people are getting agitated, the health officials said the final report to point out the exact reason behind these deaths may still take some more days.
State Epidemiologist Dr Harjeet Rai told The Tribune that the case is still under investigation. “It will take some more days for the final report to be out,” said Rai.
Rajouri Deputy Commissioner Abhishek Sharma also visited Government Medical College (GMC) Rajouri to interact with patients suffering from the unidentified disease and review the hospital's functioning.
“The visit came in the wake of a concerning situation in Badhaal village, where seven individuals recently lost their lives due to an unidentified illness. Several other affected individuals were admitted to GMC Rajouri and all are showing encouraging signs of recovery,” an official informed.
Sharma assured patients of all possible assistance from the district administration.
GMC Jammu Principal Dr Ashutosh Gupta had recently said that the preliminary investigation points to a viral infection but more work was needed to confirm the cause.
A team from the National Institute of Virology, Pune, PGI Chandigarh and National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Delhi, had already visited Rajouri and assessed the cases. A team of experts from AIIMS Delhi has also joined the probe.
The J&K Health Department has deployed rapid response teams and an ambulance as well as stocked medicines to deal with health emergencies in the village. An isolation ward has also been set up at GMC Rajouri and SMGS Hospital in Jammu.
