JAMMU, Jan 16: The Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday said it is closely monitoring the situation in Budhal village of Rajouri district, where an unexplained illness has claimed 15 lives.
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One child admitted to a hospital in Jammu remains critical.
The government has also ordered a probe into the deaths with police forming a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the incident, officials said.
“The government has been closely monitoring the situation in Budhal village, where an unexplained illness has claimed 15 lives. One child admitted to a hospital in Jammu is critical,” an official spokesperson said.
He said that investigations and sample analysis empirically indicate that the incidents are not due to a communicable disease of bacterial or viral origin and that there is no public health angle.
“All samples have tested negative for any viral or bacteriological etiology. The tests were conducted on different samples in some of the most reputed labs of the country,” he said.
These include the National Institute of Virology (Pune), the National Centre for Disease Control (New Delhi), the National Institute of Toxicology and Research (Lucknow), the Defence Research and Development Establishment (Gwalior), the Microbiology Department of PGIMER (Chandigarh), and the ICMR-Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory, GMC Jammu.
The first incident came to notice on December 7, 2024, when a family of seven fell ill after a community meal, resulting in five fatalities. On December 12, 2024, a family of nine was affected, with three deaths. The third incident occurred on January 12, 2025, involving a family of ten who fell ill after another community meal, with six children hospitalised.
Ten-year-old Zabeena Kouser, the child of one Mohammad Aslam, died at SMGS Hospital in Jammu on Wednesday night, while her 15-year-old sister Yasmeen Kouser is critical, officials said.
The government said it has taken multiple steps to determine the root cause of the illness.
Minister for Health and Medical Education, Sakina Itoo, visited the affected area with other cabinet colleagues. She also chaired several meetings with the Health and Medical Education Department, District Administration, and other relevant departments to find the cause of the illness and provide necessary healthcare to those affected.
J-K Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo chaired a series of meetings with health authorities, technical experts, and police to ensure thorough fact-finding and the best possible healthcare facilities.
The Department of Health and Medical Education has been providing treatment and reviewing the situation daily, the spokesperson said. Experts from some of the most reputed institutions have been involved in managing the situation and identifying the causative factors.
Secretary of the Department of Health Research, MOHFW, and DG ICMR, Dr. Rajeev Bahl, held a video conference to discuss strategies and steps to rule out any epidemic, he added.
Following the first incident on December 7, the government deployed a medical team along with the Food Safety Department to collect food and water samples. Medical camps, mobile medical units, door-to-door screenings, and rapid action teams were organised.
A team of state rapid response experts, including epidemiologists and microbiologists from the Directorate of Health Services (Jammu), Government Medical College (Jammu), and Rajouri, visited the area for screening and sample collection. Experts from NCDC, NIV Pune, and PGIMER Chandigarh also assisted.
Clinical reports, lab investigations, and environmental samples suggest the incidents are not linked to a communicable disease.
“The toxicological analysis conducted by CSIR-IITR detected toxins in multiple biological specimens,” the spokesperson said.
A 11-member SIT, headed by Superintendent of Police (Operations) Budhal, Wajahat Hussain, has been formed by the Rajouri police to investigate the deaths. The team was constituted considering the sensitivity of the inquest, stated by an order by Senior Superintendent of Police (Rajouri), Gaurav Sikarwar.
The government is committed to safeguarding lives and is taking all necessary steps, the spokesperson added. (Agencies)
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