Rajouri (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], January 22 (HBTV): A mysterious illness has struck the Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in 17 deaths, which a medical authority says share connections with brain and nervous system damage. Medical authorities have been deployed to investigate the cause of the illness.

Dr Amarjeet Singh Bhatia, Principal of Government Medical College (GMC) Rajouri, stated that a common factor among the deaths is the involvement of the brain and damage to the nervous system.'Forensic departments from Chandigarh and Lucknow, and teams from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), are present here. A common factor in all the deaths is the involvement of the brain and damage to the nervous system,' Dr Bhatia said.

He also highlighted the recovery rate of those affected by the unidentified illness. 'Out of nine patients admitted to GMC Rajouri, five have recovered. We conducted preventive CT scans, but recovery becomes difficult once the brain is involved,' Bhatia noted.'We are hoping to find the cause behind the illness soon. We will educate people and raise awareness, such as advising them not to exchange food,' he added.

While the exact cause of the illness remains unknown, authorities have ruled out bacterial or viral infections. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah assured citizens that the health department and other agencies are working to understand the causes behind these incidents.

On Tuesday, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah visited Rajouri's Badhal and addressed the affected citizens.'From the day we received the information, the health department, along with other agencies, has been working to identify the cause of these incidents. Tests were conducted, and we concluded that no bacteria or viruses caused these deaths,' the CM said.

'Later, we discovered that all the deaths occurred within three families,' Abdullah added. He stated that while authorities have yet to ascertain the exact cause, investigations are ongoing.'Since it is not a disease, the police are also involved. They have formed a team to investigate. A central government team is also on-site, and we are working together to find the reason behind these deaths,' Abdullah explained.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah ordered the formation of an inter-ministerial team, led by the MHA, to investigate the unexplained deaths. The team includes experts from forensic departments in Chandigarh and Lucknow.

(ANI)