Jan 19, 2025 10:44 PM IST
Yasmeen Kousar was undergoing treatment at the SMGS hospital in Jammu. Her five siblings and grandparents died last week.
The mysterious illness which is wreaking havoc in a village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district claimed another victim on Sunday, taking the death toll to 17.
The latest victim is identified as Yasmeen Kousar, the last of the six children of Mohd Aslam. She was undergoing treatment at the SMGS hospital in Jammu. Her five siblings and grandparents died last week. Nine other members of two families had died in the village between December 7 and 12.
Meanwhile, a high-level inter-ministerial team reached Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district on Sunday to probe into the mysterious illness.
Union home minister Amit Shah had on Saturday ordered the constitution of the inter-ministerial team to ascertain the cause of deaths that took place within weeks in three families linked to each other in the remote Budhal village.
“J&K health department and other departments probed the deaths but the exact cause has not been found yet. The Home Minister has constituted a team of inter-ministerial experts and they have reached here,” Lt Governor Manoj Sinha told reporters.
Also read: Rajouri mysterious illness toll 15 after 60-year-old woman’s death
He said the police have sent up an investigation team to probe the incident from all angles.
The 16-strong team arrived at Rajouri district headquarters this evening and will visit the village, which is situated 55 kilometres away.
All you need to know about the disease
The symptoms of the disease include fever, pain, nausea and loss of consciousness before death.
An official told Hindustan Times that deaths are not linked to a communicable disease of bacterial or viral origin. “All samples have tested negative for any viral or bacteriological etiology,” he added.
However, the toxicological analysis conducted by CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (IITR) has detected toxins in multiple biological specimens.
The incident came to light after a family of seven fell ill after taking a meal; five of them died. On December 12, a family of nine related to them got affected, claiming three lives. Exactly a month later on January 12, a family of 10 fell ill after consuming another community meal with six children requiring hospitalisation.
With inputs from PTI
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