“Based on our epidemiological investigation, as of now, we have reached some probable conclusions, which will be confirmed by lab diagnosis. It is something which is connected with food,” Qadri, who is part of the investigations, told PTI.More than 200 food samples have been sent for screening to various institutes across the country to isolate the neurotoxin.Hopefully, based on the panel of toxins, the laboratories will be in a position to isolate the toxin within a week or 10 days and “we can easily take the control measures to prevent further deaths”.”If you see the sequence of cases, they came over a period of time. That means it is something which is coming intermittently. They are consumed either accidentally or deliberately. That is again a question of investigation,” he said.The 17 deaths in Badhaal, about 55 km from Rajouri town, took place between December 7 and January 19.The patients complained of fever, pain, nausea, intense sweating and loss of consciousness before dying within days of admission to hospitals.Earlier, a Jammu and Kashmir government spokesperson said investigations and samples empirically indicated that the incidents were not due to a communicable disease of bacterial or viral origin and that there is no public health angle.Police have also set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) after certain neurotoxins were found in the samples of the deceased.National Conference (NC) leader and local MLA Javaid Iqbal Choudhary said the situation in the village is tough but all necessary measures are in place to deal with it.”The fresh cases have deepened the mystery and we are hopeful that the investigations by both local and central agencies will reach a conclusion soon,” he said.According to Choudhary, the four new patients were airlifted to hospitals by the Indian Air Force (IAF).Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Ramesh Kumar and Additional Director General of Police, Jammu, Anand Jain have also reached Kotranka to review the situation.
Source link
