NEW DELHI, Feb 2: A team of five specialists from AIIMS Delhi, which includes toxicology experts, has interviewed 11 patients receiving treatment for a mysterious illness that has resulted in the deaths of 17 individuals in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district. They have documented these patients’ clinical histories.
The team plans to visit Badhaal village on Sunday, where three families have been affected, to collect samples from their quarantined homes and the surrounding environment.
“Tests will be conducted on the samples to determine the source of toxicity. The experts will also speak with other villagers,” a source disclosed.
The delegation, led by AIIMS director Dr. M Srinivas, includes Dr. A Shariff, a clinical toxicology professor; Dr. Shailendra Kumar, an additional professor in anesthesia and critical care; Dr. Jamahed Nayer, an additional professor of emergency medicine; Dr. Jagdish Prasad Meena, an additional professor of pediatrics; and Dr. Javed Qadri, an assistant professor in clinical toxicology.
Sources revealed that the team arrived in Rajouri on Friday night, engaged with patients and their families at the Government Medical College (GMC), and raised several inquiries regarding the situation.
They also assessed some patients who are currently under observation.
Doctors at GMC Rajouri are treating the 11 patients with Atropine, an anti-poison medication, according to sources.
In addition to the AIIMS Delhi team, experts from PGI Chandigarh are also examining the source of the toxicity.
Officials noted that no new cases have emerged in Badhaal village over the past nine days, following the unexplained deaths of 17 individuals from three families between December 7 and January 19.
To manage the crisis and avert further fatalities, 87 families comprising 364 individuals were relocated from the village to three isolated facilities in Rajouri: the Government Nursing College, Government Boys Higher Secondary School, and Government Medical College, where they remain under observation.
To ensure the safety of the remaining 808 households, totaling 3,700 residents in Badhaal, the area has been divided into 14 sectors overseen by multidisciplinary teams of 182 officials, sources confirmed.
All businesses in the village have been closed, and supplies are being distributed under strict oversight, an official added.
The remote village has been designated as a containment zone, with prohibitory measures in place for all public and private gatherings. (AGENCIES)
