Mysterious deaths in Jammu & Kashmir's Rajouri: AIIMS Delhi team meets patients, records clinical history

New Delhi: A five-member team of experts from AIIMS Delhi, including specialists in toxicology, has spoken to 11 patients who are undergoing treatment for a mysterious illness that has claimed 17 lives in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, and recorded their clinical history.

The team would visit Badhaal village on Sunday where three families suffered casualties due to the illness, and collect samples from their sealed homes and surrounding areas.

"The samples would tested to know the cause of toxicity. The experts will also interact with the other villagers," a source said.

The AIIMS team headed by its director Dr M Srinivas comprises Dr A Shariff, professor in clinical toxicology, Dr Shailendra Kumar, additional professor, anesthesia and critical care, Dr Jamahed Nayer, additional professor, emergency medicine, Dr Jagdish Prasad Meena, additional professor, pediatrics, and Dr Javed Qadri, assistant professor, clinical toxicology.

According to sources, the team arrived in Rajouri on Friday night, interacted with the patients and their relatives at the Government Medical College (GMC), and made several queries about the entire episode.

They also examined some of the patients who are under observation.

The doctors at GMC Rajouri are treating the 11 patients using Atropine, an anti-poison drug, the sources said.

Besides the AIIMS Delhi team, a team of experts from PGI Chandigarh is also investigating the cause of toxicity.

Meanwhile, no new case has been reported in the past nine days from Badhaal village, which was shaken by the unexplained deaths of 17 people belonging to three families between December 7 and January 19, officials said. To mitigate the situation and prevent further casualties, 87 families comprising 364 individuals were shifted from the village to three isolated centres in Rajouri -- Government Nursing College, Government Boys Higher Secondary School, and Government Medical College where they are under observation.

To ensure the safety of the remaining 808 households, comprising 3,700 individuals, in Badhaal, the village has been divided into 14 clusters monitored by multi-department teams of 182 officials, sources said.

All shops and establishments in the village have been sealed, and ration is being provided under strict supervision, an official said.

The remote village has been declared a containment zone and prohibitory orders have been imposed on all public and private gatherings.