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What is causing deaths of children due to mysterious illness in Badhaal village of Rajouri?

Till today (January 13), 10 children have lost their lives in Badhaal village of Kotranka sub-division in Rajouri district apparently due to an unknown disease. The total toll is 12 as two adults of the victim families also died since December last year.

While the authorities have clarified that the deaths are not due to any viral infection, the actual cause of the fatalities is still not known.

The Tribune last week reported that deaths of eight persons, including seven minors, in Badhal village of Rajouri district last month have been ruled out as being caused by a viral infection.

One of the women who is said to be a victim of the mysterious illness and died on December 22 was pregnant. She lost her three children due to the mysterious illness. Reason behind her death is alleged medical negligence.

The spate of deaths started on December 8 when a family manifested symptoms of food poisoning. The health authorities of Rajouri initially believed it to be a case of food poisoning when four people including minors died. However some days later another family developed similar symptoms and deaths were reported.

Experts from national level institutions reached Rajouri on the request of the J&K government. Teams from National Institute of Virology (Pune), PGI (Chandigarh), National Centre for Disease Control (Delhi) and AIIMS (Delhi) visited and took samples. However as of now, the cause of deaths has not been announced by the health department.

After three minors died on Sunday, the health authorities are again in the spotlight for not making the reason behind the deaths due to mysterious illness public.

Shockingly, all the 12 deaths have been reported from relatives. The deaths took place in three families who are related to each other.

As part of the relief measures, the DC Rajouri Abhishek Sharma deployed ambulances, health teams and ASHA workers to provide essential medical assistance to the residents on Sunday. Furthermore, other departments have been activated to ensure seamless coordination and cooperation with the general public.

A statement by administration read that samples have been collected from ill patients and investigations have been initiated to determine the cause of the ailments. The administration is closely monitoring the situation and will take necessary action based on the outcome of the investigations. The general public is advised not to panic and to follow any advisories issued by the authorities.