Experts from three of the country’s premier medical institutions have descended on a village in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir after the number of those dead due to unidentified causes there rose to seven – six of them children.
On December 8, a resident of Baddal village and four of his children died in what officials suspected to be a case of food poisoning. Days later, on December 12, two siblings from another family died under similar circumstances.
Now, experts are going door to door, collecting samples and data.
Principal of Government Medical College, Jammu, Dr Ashutosh Gupta, told The Indian Express that while teams of experts, including paediatricians, epidemiologists and virologists from PGI Chandigarh, National Institute of Virology, Pune, and National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)¸ Delhi, are collecting samples of food, water and other things at Baddal and nearby villages, a vehicle equipped with lab facilities have also been sent to the area for on-the-spot testing of the collected samples.
However, it will take some time to arrive at a conclusion about the exact cause of the deaths, Gupta said.
Health department teams camping in the village since Saturday have screened all 1,800 residents for symptoms like fever, body aches and drowsiness. Sources said no one was found with such symptoms. Now, teams are conducting a door-to-door survey in adjoining villages, the sources said.
Meanwhile, Minister for Health and Medical Education, Sakeen Itoo, and Jal Shakti Minister Javed Ahmed Rana visited Kotranka sub-division on Sunday to review the situation.
They chaired a detailed review meeting, which was attended by senior officers including the Secretary of Health and Medical Education, Dr Syed Abid Rasheed Shah.
Minister Itoo emphasised the urgency of strengthening health systems and enforcing social distancing, expediting results from forensic laboratories, and directing the Food and Supplies Department to collect and test additional samples as well as the Animal Husbandry Department to collect and test milk samples. In addition, she directed to ensure a team of doctors to remain stationed in Kotranka, besides establishing an MRI facility at Kotranka for improved diagnostic capabilities.
Minister Javed Rana stressed the importance of conducting water testing in adjacent areas. In addition, he announced two mobile medical units (MMUs) for Rajouri and Poonch districts, each worth around Rs 1 crore, from the Tribal Affairs Department. These MMUs will be equipped with basic medical equipment and staffed by healthcare professionals. They have been designed to provide a range of healthcare services, including preventive care, diagnostics and treatment of common illnesses.
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