Authorities have cancelled all leaves of doctors and paramedics in the wake of a medical alert following the deaths of 17 people from Badhaal village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district due to a mysterious illness.
Union minister Dr Jitendra Singh said the initial investigation conducted by the toxicology laboratory in Lucknow concluded that the cause was not any infection, virus or bacteria but a toxin.
Principal of Rajouri Government Medical College (GMC) Hospital, Dr Amarjeet Singh Bhatia, on Friday addressed a press conference in Rajouri and announced that all leaves of doctors and paramedic staff have been cancelled.
“The winter vacations have also been cancelled to deal with the medical alert situation after 17 people from three families died under mysterious conditions in the last one-and-a-half months,” he said.
500 Rajouri residents relocated to government accommodations for quarantine following mysterious illness deaths
He further said the Jammu and Kashmir government has deputed 10 additional medical students to GMC Rajouri to aid the medical setup amid the ongoing health situation.
The health condition of three persons undergoing treatment at GMC Hospital in Jammu and PGI Chandigarh is being monitored, officials said.
Four people, including three sisters, were shifted to hospitals, with three airlifted to a hospital in Jammu on Wednesday.
More persons, including relatives who had come in contact with the victim families, were sent on Friday to quarantine as a precautionary measure.
As a precaution, more individuals, including close relatives of the deceased, have been relocated to the Nursing College quarantine centre in Rajouri, increasing the number to 230, the officials said.
Strict security has been put in place at the Nursing College quarantine centre in Rajouri, which has been heavily secured and fenced, they added.
The Union minister said a thorough investigation is underway.
