The unexplained illness has killed eight people so far, mainly children, in the Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir. As the body count keeps increasing, the officials have dispatched a team of experts along with a mobile laboratory to study the situation.
The mysterious disease has already claimed eight people in Badhaal village in Kotranka tehsil. Among those dead are seven children younger than 14 years old. The latest victim to be counted is 12-year-old Ashfaq Ahmed, who breathed his last at GMC Jammu on Monday. Officials said he had been referred to Chandigarh for specialized treatment but failed to recover as Ashfaq had been undergoing treatment for six days before dying.
This disease, which has only affected two families so far in the Badhaal village, has raised great concern among the authorities and the people in the region. The spread of this disease is not explained, and the government is taking rapid measures to investigate the cause.
Mobile Laboratory Deployed
In response to the increasing death toll, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has established a central team of experts to help trace the origin of the disease and to check its spread. A BSL-3 mobile laboratory has been dispatched to Rajouri to speed up the testing process. The laboratory will be of utmost importance in helping doctors quickly diagnose the illness and conduct all necessary tests to determine the cause.
According to the statement, an official spokesperson said, “The mobilization of the BSL-3 mobile laboratory is one crucial step in determining the nature of this illness. This would help in speedy testing and curb further spread of the disease.”
Response Of Government
On Monday, Abhishek Sharma, DC Rajouri, visited the affected village to assess the situation and to meet with local authorities in this context. His visit was a move to understand the scale of the outbreak and ascertain if adequate steps were being taken to contain the illness.
The deaths have brought attention to the vulnerability of the village, and the authorities are now focusing on determining whether the illness is contagious or linked to any environmental or medical factors.
While the nature of the disease is still unknown, the authorities are taking it as a priority issue to avoid more casualties. Among the victims are seven children, which has alarmed all the residents, especially the rural people who do not have access to healthcare services.
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