Two more children succumb to mysterious disease in Rajouri

Rajouri/Jammu, Jan 13 (PTI) Two more children died on Monday after six kids from a family were admitted to hospital due to a mysterious illness at Badhaal village in Rajouri district, officials said.

Six children of Mohammad Aslam were taken to the community health centre for a medical check-up on Saturday evening. The children were initially referred to the Government Medical College (GMC) Associated Hospital in Rajouri and later they were shifted to the SMGS Hospital in Jammu where 5-year-old Nabeena breathed her last on Sunday, they said.

On Monday, Zahoor (14) and Maroof (8) died during treatment at the hospital.

The village under the Kotranka sub-division has been grappling with a mysterious disease that claimed the lives of nine people from two different families since December last year. The latest deaths have taken the toll to 12, officials said.

“Six children were admitted to the hospital here. One girl died yesterday, while two more children passed away today. Nothing is known about the exact cause of the deaths yet. The health department has failed to identify the disease,” Aijaz Ahmed, a close relative of the deceased children, told reporters here.

The situation in the village is grim, with fear of the unknown disease gripping its residents, he added.

Dr Ashutosh Gupta, principal of GMC Hospital, had said last month that preliminary investigations pointed to a viral infection as the cause of the mysterious deaths. However, he also said that more studies were needed to reach a definitive conclusion.

Teams of experts from Pune’s National Institute of Virology, PGI Chandigarh, AIIMS Delhi, and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Delhi, have visited the village to assist in the investigations.

Rajouri Deputy Commissioner Abhishek Sharma, Rajouri-Poonch range Deputy Inspector General Tejinder Singh and Senior Superintendent of Police Gaurav Sikarwar have visited the village to assess the situation.

Health teams have also been deputed to ensure necessary medical check-ups, officials said.