Jammu : A five-member team of medical experts from AIIMS Delhi, including specialists in toxicology, has begun a detailed investigation into a mysterious illness that has led to 17 deaths in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district. The team has already interacted with 11 patients currently undergoing treatment and has recorded their clinical history in an effort to determine the cause of the illness.
The team, led by AIIMS Delhi Director Dr. M Srinivas, includes Dr. A Shariff (professor of clinical toxicology), Dr. Shailendra Kumar (additional professor of anesthesia and critical care), Dr. Jamahed Nayer (additional professor of emergency medicine), Dr. Jagdish Prasad Meena (additional professor of pediatrics), and Dr. Javed Qadri (assistant professor of clinical toxicology). They arrived in Rajouri on Friday night and have since engaged with patients and their relatives at the Government Medical College (GMC) in Rajouri.
Additionally, they have been examining the patients still under observation and inquiring about the sequence of events leading up to the fatalities. As part of their investigation, the experts plan to visit Badhaal village on Sunday, the epicenter of the outbreak, where three families suffered multiple casualties. They will collect samples from the victims’ sealed homes and the surrounding environment to identify any possible sources of toxicity. “The samples will be tested to determine the cause of the illness. The experts will also interact with the other villagers to gather additional insights,” a source stated. Doctors at GMC Rajouri have been treating the affected patients with Atropine, an anti-poison medication, indicating that toxicity is suspected to be a key factor in the mysterious disease.
In addition to the AIIMS team, a group of experts from PGI Chandigarh is also actively investigating the cause of the outbreak. No new cases have been reported from Badhaal village in the last nine days, offering a temporary sense of relief to the community. However, as a precautionary measure, 87 families—comprising 364 individuals—have been relocated to three isolated centers in Rajouri, including the Government Nursing College, Government Boys Higher Secondary School, and Government Medical College. Meanwhile, the village itself, which houses 808 households and around 3,700 residents, has been divided into 14 monitoring clusters, each supervised by a multi-departmental team of 182 officials.
Authorities have taken stringent measures to prevent further casualties. The entire village has been declared a containment zone, and prohibitory orders have been enforced to restrict public and private gatherings. All shops and establishments have been sealed, with essential rations being supplied under strict government supervision. These emergency measures aim to protect residents while experts continue their search for answers behind the deadly outbreak.
