‘It’s just toxin’: Union minister Jitendra Singh’s update on mystery illness in J&K village | India News – The Times of India


NEW DELHI: Union minister Jitendra Singh on Wednesday provided an update on unidentified illness that has killed over 17 in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri, saying that it is “just a toxin”. He ruled out the possibility of any infection, virus or bacteria.
“I think the discussion has started but the first test was conducted by a toxicology laboratory in Lucknow, CSIR. The discussion was that there was no infection, no virus, no bacteria, it was just a toxin. Now the toxin is being tested. So there is a long series of toxins that are being tested…and if there is any mischief or any other mischief, then we will know about it,” he said.
J&K CM Omar Abdullah took stock of the situation on Tuesday and visited Rajouri’s Badhal. “The day when we got the information, the health department along with other departments have been working to understand the causes behind such incidents… Tests were done, and we concluded that there were no bacteria or viruses that caused those deaths,” he said.
Meanwhile, Union home minister Amit Shah has directed the formation of an inter-ministerial team, led by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), to investigate the causes behind three incidents of unexplained deaths reported over the past six weeks.

What we know of the mystery disease so far

Since early December 2024, an unidentified disease started making headlines as it claimed 17 lives and affected 38 others in Rajouri.
Despite the concerning numbers, health department teams have said that there was no need to declare a public health emergency.
At a press conference, Dr AS Bhatia, principal of Government Medical College (GMC) Rajouri, revealed that all the deceased individuals exhibited a common medical condition: brain swelling, or edema. He said that neurotoxins detected in samples analyzed by the country’s premier laboratories were responsible for causing brain damage.
Neurotoxins are harmful substances that impair the normal functioning of the nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves. By disrupting nerve signal transmission, these toxins can cause effects ranging from mild discomfort to severe neurological damage or even death. They specifically target neurons, the cells responsible for processing and transmitting information within the nervous system.





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