After ‘mystery deaths’ in J&K, 9 admitted with similar symptoms now stable: Doctors

Jammu: Nine of the 11 patients who were admitted to Rajouri's Government Medical College Hospital with symptoms of the illness are now stable, according to health officials, amid strict efforts to limit an unidentified cause that has so far claimed 17 lives in the Baddal hamlet in Jammu and Kashmir.

Dr Amarjeet, the principal of Rajouri Government Medical College, stated that a number of these patients had arrived at the hospital with symptoms like fever and respiratory difficulties during the previous week and had ultimately become critically ill.

“Except for two girls, the rest have stabilised,” he said Friday, adding that “certain changes in treatment protocol” had been made.

As the number of casualties from the unknown cause continues to rise, local authorities have implemented rigorous health precautions in the area.

The victims, the majority of whom were minors, came from three related households. According to a toxicology analysis from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Lucknow, a toxin was found in the corpses of the deceased, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said in a statement released on Thursday, Indian Express reported.

“`Now the toxin is being tested,” he had said, adding that the “mystery” would soon be cleared.

Such a statement, which suggested that officials were getting closer to determining the source of the illness, was made for the first time since the first death was recorded on December 7.

Meanwhile, 100 more village residents were brought to Rajouri Hospital for continuous health monitoring on Friday, raising the total number of such admissions to roughly 300, according to district administration sources.

Hospital infrastructure has also been upgraded, with more doctors—including ten more paediatricians and anesthesiologists—deployed there as the state attempts to isolate village people in an effort to stop any "further contagion.”

The administration is continuing its procedure of establishing containment zones, as indicated earlier this week, with more police and paramilitary deployment in the area to limit movement. It also continues to provide food and water around the village three times a day, a practice it initiated earlier this week.

“To provide fodder to the livestock and cattle left behind by the villagers who have been isolated in hospitals, the administration has deployed staff from the Animal Husbandry Department,” a senior official in the district administration said.

Budhal MLA Javed Iqbal Choudhary has asked the Omar Abdullah government of Jammu and Kashmir to declare a "medical emergency" in the village, as well as to make an air ambulance available to transport urgent patients to medical facilities in Chandigarh and Delhi.

In early December, seven family members developed fever and vomiting after attending a community function. Since the initial death on December 7, 17 more people have died and scores more have been unwell, leaving several agencies from both the Centre and the Union Territory rushing to determine the cause. Last Monday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah formed an inter-ministerial team to look into deaths.