As per the reports, nearly nine days have passed since a mysterious illness struck the Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in the deaths of eight children.
A central team of experts has been assembled by the authorities to help investigate the cases and deaths in the affected village after twelve-year-old Ashfaq Ahmed, son of Mohammad Rafiq, died on Wednesday following a six-day hospitalization at the Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu. Authorities reported that he was previously sent to Chandigarh for treatment but did not survive.
A biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) mobile lab has been sent to Rajouri to speed up testing and diagnose the illness.
Following Ashfaq’s death, the fatality count in Badhaal village of Kotranka tehsil has risen to eight. Notably, all the victims were members of two families from the same village.
On Monday, Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Rajouri, Abhishek Sharma, visited Badhaal village to assess the situation where seven people, including six children under 14, have died from an unknown illness.
Steps are underway to identify the specific type of illness that is spreading. The use of the mobile laboratory is essential in this process as it will facilitate quick testing and analysis.
The goal of the initiative is to prevent further spread. Efforts are being made to pinpoint the particular illness that has been going around. The deployment of the mobile laboratory is a crucial step as it will enable rapid testing and analysis. This is expected to help in stopping further spread.
