 "'Mystery illness' claims 17 lives in J-K's Rajouri; inter-ministerial team steps in to probe")
synopsis
The "mystery illness" in Badhaal village, Rajouri, has claimed 17 lives since December 2024, with the recent death of Mohammad Aslam's sixth child. A team from Delhi, including officials from various ministries, has arrived to evaluate the situation.
The “mystery illness” continued to plague residents of Badhaal village in Rajouri district, Jammu and Kashmir, as the sixth child of Mohammad Aslam died at a hospital in Jammu on Sunday, raising the death toll to 17 since December 2024. Meanwhile, a team from Delhi, comprising officials from multiple ministries, arrived in Rajouri to assess the situation.
Mohammad Aslam, who had tragically lost five of his children by Friday, saw his sixth and youngest child, 16-year-old Yasmeena Akhtar Jan, succumb to the illness. She was initially admitted to a hospital in Rajouri on Sunday and later referred to a hospital in Jammu on Monday for treatment.
Dr. Ashutosh Gupta, the Principal of Government Medical College and Associated Hospital (GMC&AH) in Jammu, confirmed Yasmeena Akhtar Jan's death and informed the media that her condition had been critical from the very beginning.
In the span of a week, Mohammad Aslam has tragically lost four daughters, two sons, as well as his maternal uncle and aunt. This occurred after they had attended a 'fatiha' – a memorial ceremony held in honor of Fazal Hussain and Robia Kousar (both 14), Farhana Kousar (9), Raftar (5), and Rukhsar (11), who had died on December 7 while receiving treatment for the same mysterious illness.
In response to the deaths of two families in December 2024, the Union Ministry of Health's Directorate of Health Services deployed a team of experts from leading medical institutions, including the Indian Council of Medical Research. The team, equipped with a Mobile Laboratory Vehicle, set up camp in Koteranka to investigate the cases and fatalities in Badhaal.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah directed the formation of an inter-ministerial high-level team to visit a village in Rajouri district to investigate the causes of the mass deaths over the past six weeks. Earlier, on Friday, J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had reviewed the situation in Badhaal village.
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