Thirty-five villagers were hospitalised after falling ill due to a mysterious illness in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s heavily militarized Rajouri district, prompting the health officials to suspect the contaminated drinking water as possible cause for illness.
“Thirty-five persons from Kotliparran village in Manjakot tehsil were admitted to the hospital after falling ill in the past few days. All are stable. Four of them have been referred to the Government Medical College (GMC) in Rajouri,” a doctor heading the medical team told reporters in the village.
A team from the health department has visited the village, collected water samples, and sent them for testing, he said. The patients exhibited symptoms of waterborne disease, prompting immediate medical attention, officials said. Health officials suspect contaminated drinking water.
“A team from GMC Rajouri collected water samples from three local wells. The district administration has sealed the wells pending test results,” the medic said.
“It can be a possible outbreak of acute gastroenteritis, according to the information received from the community medicine department. The symptoms included stomach pain, fever, dehydration, and diarrhea,” he added.
Health officials are closely monitoring the situation after assuring the public that appropriate measures are being taken to ensure public safety.
The authorities declared the entire village a containment zone and shifted the residents to a quarantine centre, where they were released after over a month-long stay.