Rajouri: In a rather shocking and heartbreaking news update, eight children from two families in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri have lost their lives due to a mysterious disease which is yet to be identified. A BSL-3 mobile laboratory has been dispatched to expedite testing and fastrack identification of the disease. 

Mysterious Illness in Rajouri Claims Lives of 8 Children

The death toll from an unknown illness in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district has risen to eight, with another child succumbing to the mysterious disease in a hospital here on Wednesday. 12-year-old Ashfaq Ahmed, son of Mohammad Rafiq, passed away after being hospitalised at the Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu for six days, officials said. He was earlier referred to Chandigarh for treatment but could not survive, officials said.

Ashfaq’s younger siblings—seven-year-old Ishtiyaq and five-year-old Nazia—died last Thursday. With the death of Ashfaq, the number of fatalities in Badhaal village of Kotranka tehsil has reached eight. All the deceased belonged to two families from the same village.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Rajouri, Abhishek Sharma, visited Kotranka on Monday to assess the ground situation in Badhaal village, where seven people, including six children under the age of 14, have died due to the unidentified illness.

Mobile Laboratory Dispatched to Rajouri for Disease Identification

A Biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) mobile laboratory has been dispatched to Rajouri to expedite testing and identify the illness, officials said. The rising death toll has prompted authorities to set up a central team of experts to assist in investigating the cases and fatalities in the affected village.

“In response to the incident, a Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) mobile laboratory has been sent to Rajouri. Additionally, a central team of experts has been constituted to assist the Union Territory administration in investigating the cases and fatalities,” an official spokesperson said. 

(Inputs from PTI)