BBC Hindi
Officials are investigating the “mysterious deaths” of more than a dozen people – most of them children – in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.
At least 17 people, including 12 children, have died in Badhal village in Jammu’s Rajouri district since December 7.
The victims initially showed symptoms similar to food poisoning but suddenly lost consciousness, health officials said.
The village has been declared a containment zone, but officials said the disease does not appear to be contagious and there is no fear of an outbreak.
dr. AS Bhatia, head of the local hospital, said the first five patients – including four children – who were admitted had symptoms similar to food poisoning, including vomiting and diarrhoea. Others complained of sore throats and breathing problems.
But then all of them would suddenly lose consciousness, he added.
The federal government ordered an investigation. A special investigation team set up by the local government, consisting of police officers, pathologists and other experts, did questioned dozens of people so far.
According to the first tests, the cause could be the consumption of contaminated food and water. Villagers have been asked not to drink water from the local spring after a test sample showed it contained traces of pesticides.
The deaths occurred between December 7 and January 19, and the victims were members of three related families. The six children who died were brothers and sistersat the age of seven to 15 years. Their houses are sealed.
Although doctors have ruled out the possibility of infection, the administrative order says that people identified as close contacts of the three families are being shifted to a government hospital in Rajouri, where their condition will be monitored. The order also asks all other residents of Badhal to consume only food and water provided by the administration.
“The authorities will confiscate all edible material in infected households,” the order reads.
At least 10 people have been admitted to hospitals in the cities of Rajouri, Jammu and Chandigarh and are undergoing treatment.
dr. Shuja Quadri, an epidemiologist at the Government Medical College, Rajouri, said the disease is localized and they have ruled out viral, bacterial, protozoal and zoonotic infections.
In the second cluster of patients who were admitted on December 12, five people recovered, including a one-year-old child.
“This was a glimmer of hope for us,” said dr. Bhatia.
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