Unexplained Illness: Budhal Death Toll Reaches 16 as 60-Year-Old Woman Succumbs

Srinagar, Jan 17: Another life has been lost to the unexplained deaths in the Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, as an elderly woman succumbed at GMC Associated Hospital Rajouri on Friday morning, raising the death toll to 16.

Jatti Begum (60), a resident of Badhaal village breathed her last at GMC Associated Hospital Rajouri,as per reports.

Jatti was the wife of Muhammad Yousuf (62), who also died two days ago. Five children of the same family have also perished due to this unexplained disease.

The J&K Government has assured the public not to panic as investigations into the mysterious deaths in village Budhal, Rajouri, have revealed that they are not due to any communicable disease of bacterial or viral origin.

According to a press statement issued by the Health and Medical Education (H&ME) Department, “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.”

The department further stated, “All samples have tested negative for any viral or bacteriological etiology.” The tests were conducted at some of the most reputed labs in the country, including the National Institute of Virology, Pune; National Centre for Disease Control, New Delhi and the Microbiology Department of PGIMER, Chandigarh.

Meanwhile, the H&ME has said, the toxicological analysis conducted by CSIR-IITR has detected toxins in multiple biological specimens.

The Rajouri police have formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the deaths.

The government has assured the public that it is committed to safeguarding the lives of people and is taking all necessary steps in the matter.

“The government has been closely monitoring the situation and has taken several steps to find the root cause of the unusual illness,” official spokesperson said.“The government has also arranged for experts from reputed institutions 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,” it said.