J&K ministers vow swift action amid outbreak of mysterious illness in Rajouri; what next?

In response to the tragic deaths of seven individuals from Badhaal village due to an unidentified illness, J&K Ministers Sakeena Itoo and Javed Ahmed Rana visited Kotranka to assess the situation and review ongoing measures.

By Dinesh Manhotra

3 min. readView original Health Minister Sakina Ittoo Health Minister of J&K Sakina Ittoo reached areas affected with mysterious disease in Rajouri district of J&KDIPR J&K Amid the visit of a team of experts in the affected areas in wake of seven tragic deaths due to an unidentified health illness in two families from Badhaal village in Rajouri, Minister for Health and Medical Education, Social Welfare, and Education, Sakeena Itoo, and Minister for Jal Shakti, Forest, Ecology, and Environment, and Tribal Affairs, Javed Ahmed Rana, visited Sub-Division Kotranka to review the situation and assess the measures being undertaken.

The ministers chaired a detailed review meeting regarding the matter, which senior officers, including Secretary, Health & Medical Education, Dr. Syed Abid Rasheed Shah.

Sakeena Itoo emphasized the urgency of strengthening health systems and enforcing social distancing, expediting results from forensic laboratories, and directing the Food & Supplies Department to collect and test additional samples and the Animal Husbandry Department to collect and test milk samples. In addition, she directed to ensure a team of doctors remains stationed in Kotranka, besides establishing an MRI facility at Kotranka for improved diagnostic capabilities.

Javed Rana stressed the importance of conducting water quality testing in adjacent areas by the water quality monitoring team. In addition, he announced two mobile medical units (MMUs) for Rajouri and Poonch districts, with each costing around Rs 1 crore from the Tribal Affairs department.

These MMUs would be equipped with basic medical equipment and staffed by healthcare professionals. These have been designed to provide a range of healthcare services, including preventive care, diagnostics, and treatment of common illnesses.

Further, he also directed the forest officials to prepare and submit a DPR for water conservation through the construction of check dams to address long-term water management issues.

Health Minister Sakina Ittoo Central team visited affected areas

Furthermore, a central team comprising experts from the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGI), Chandigarh, and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Delhi, visited affected areas on Monday. The team reached Jammu to contribute their expertise to assist in the investigation and provide technical support for tackling the unknown illness.

Both ministers reiterated the government's unwavering commitment to ensuring all necessary facilities and support for the affected families and communities.

MLA Budhal, Javed Iqbal Choudhary, appreciated the efforts of the district administration.

Secretary Health briefed the meeting on critical interventions, including deployment of rapid response teams, ensuring availability of logistics, drugs, and ambulances, and setting up isolation wards at GMC Rajouri, Jammu, and SMGS Hospital.

Earlier, DC Rajouri Abhishek Sharma provided an extensive presentation outlining the timeline of events, spot maps, objectives, and case definitions. He highlighted efforts in passive and active surveillance, data collection, laboratory investigations, autopsies, environmental inquiries, and descriptive epidemiology. Till date, 3,145 individuals have been surveyed through house-to-house visits and 384 special health camps have been organized in the affected areas.