No fresh cases of mysterious illness in Rajouri’s Badhal village, experts formulating treatment protocol

Doctors at GMC Rajouri have successfully treated 11 patients of the mysterious illness using the anti-poison drug atropine
No fresh cases of mysterious illness in Rajouri’s Badhal village, experts formulating treatment protocol
(File Photo| EPS)
Updated on
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SRINAGAR: No new cases of the mysterious illness have been reported in Badhal village of Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, where 17 people from three families died over the course of more than a month. For the past week, doctors, alongside experts from PGI Chandigarh and AIIMS New Delhi, have been formulating an SOP for the follow-up, discharge, and treatment protocol for patients who have recovered from the illness.

MLA Budhal, Ch. Javed Iqbal, stated that no fresh cases of the mysterious illness have been reported from Badhal village since January 24.

“The situation is now under control,” he said.

After 17 people, including 13 children and 4 adults, died from the illness, the administration declared Badhal village a containment zone and relocated approximately 400 people from nearly 90 families to government accommodations in the Rajouri district headquarters. The administration is providing food and lodging facilities to help break the neurotoxin in the food chain.

No fresh cases of mysterious illness in Rajouri’s Badhal village, experts formulating treatment protocol
J&K mysterious illness: GMC Rajouri decides against discharging patients until toxin reports received

Doctors at GMC Rajouri have successfully treated 11 patients of the mysterious illness using the anti-poison drug atropine, which is used to treat organophosphorus group poisons. Atropine was also used to treat patients at GMC Jammu and PGI Chandigarh.

However, doctors are still awaiting the results of the samples taken from the village by national health agencies.

A team of three doctors from PGI Chandigarh is currently on a three-day visit to Rajouri to assess the situation. They met with patients undergoing treatment at GMC Rajouri, checked their treatment, and spoke with attendants, doctors, and nurses attending to them. They also visited the quarantine centres and met three patients who were discharged from GMC Jammu and are now under observation at the quarantine facility.

The team will visit the affected Badhal village on Saturday for an on-site assessment of the situation.

A team from AIIMS New Delhi, led by its Director, will arrive in Rajouri on Saturday and stay in the district headquarters for two days. They will also meet with patients and doctors to obtain first-hand information about the mysterious illness.

Principal of GMC Rajouri, Dr. Amarjeet Singh Bhatia, told this newspaper that although 11 patients have been successfully treated with atropine, the specific toxin causing the illness is still unknown.

He said experts from PGI and AIIMS New Delhi will formulate an SOP for the discharge policy and follow-up treatment of patients who have fully recovered from the mysterious illness. “They will formulate the SOP for follow-up, discharge, and treatment protocol of the patients,” he added.

GMC Rajouri, where 11 patients of the mysterious illness have fully recovered, has decided against discharging the patients until the toxic substance responsible for the illness is identified.

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