The police on Thursday constituted an SIT to investigate the mysterious deaths in the Budhal village of Rajouri where the toll has increased to 15 with another child losing her life last evening.

The J&K government in a statement said that these deaths were not due to any communicable disease of bacteria or viral origin. Toxins have been found in samples by CSIR-IITR. The toxicological analysis conducted by CSIR-IITR has detected toxins in multiple biological specimens.

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Fifteen of the 38 affected persons, including 12 children, have died since 7 December when five children showing symptoms of food poisoning died. Five children shifted here in the SMGS Hospital have died in the past three days. A 9 year girl, Zabeena, died in the hospital yesterday evening.

The other four other children, who died earlier this week in the SMGS Hospital were, Zahoor Ahmad (14), Mohammad Maroof (10), Safina Kousar (6) and Naveena (8). One more girl was undergoing treatment in the hospital.

A government spokesman said that the situation was being closely monitored in village Budhal where an unexplained illness has claimed these lives.

“Investigations and samples 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. Pertinently 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. These include National Institute of Virology Pune, National Centre for disease control New Delhi, National Institute of Toxicology and Rsearch Lucknow, Defence Research Development Establishment Gwalior, the Microbiology Department of PGIMER Chandigarh besides the ICMR-Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory, GMC Jammu”.

The spokesman said that the incident came into notice on 7 December 2024, when a family of seven got ill after a community meal, resulting in five fatalities. On 12 December, a family of nine got affected, claiming three lives. The third incident occurred on 12 January, involving a family of ten who fell ill after consuming another community meal, with six children requiring hospitalization.

Responding promptly, the Government took a number of steps to find the root cause of the unusual illness.
“The Minister for Health and Medical Education, Sakina Itoo, visited the spot along with other cabinet colleagues, besides chairing several meetings with the Health and Medical Education Department, District Administration, and other related departments to find the cause of the illness and provide necessary healthcare facilities to the affected”.
“Chief Secretary J&K, Atal Dulloo, also chaired a series of meetings with health authorities, administration, technical experts from across the country, and police to ensure thorough fact-finding and provide the best healthcare facilities to the affected”, the spokesman said.

The department of Health and Medical Education has been providing the best possible treatment and management to the patients besides reviewing the situation on a daily basis. Experts from some of the most reputed institutions of the country have been arranged to manage the situation and understand the causative factors of the deaths.
Secretary, Department of Health Research, MOHFW and DG ICMR Government of India Dr. Rajeev Bahl, held a video conference to discuss strategies and steps to rule out any epidemic.

The Government took several steps immediately after the first incident on 7 December, including deputing a medical team along with the food safety department to collect food and water samples, organizing medical camps, establishing mobile medical units, door-to-door screening, and deploying rapid action teams, the spokesman said.
A team of the state rapid response experts, including epidemiologists, microbiologists, and others from DHS Jammu, GMC Jammu, and Rajouri, visited the area to conduct detailed screening and collect contact tracing samples. Experts from NCDC, NIV Pune, and PGI Chandigarh also visited the area to assist in containing the situation.
Clinical reports, lab investigations, and environmental samples indicate that the incidents are not due to a communicable disease.

Meanwhile Rajouri police has formed a SIT for investigating the deaths. Efforts are on by the J&K police to investigate the incident.

The Government is committed to safeguarding the lives of people and is taking all necessary steps in the matter, the spokesman added.