No fresh case of mysterious illness in last 2 days: Govt
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 25: Member NITI Aayog today chaired a high level virtual meeting to review the ongoing management strategy and identify root cause of the mysterious deaths in Badhaal area of Kotranka Sub-Division in Rajouri, besides devising measures to prevent further fatalities.
Following elaborate deliberations, several decisions were made, including the establishment of a control room as a centralized point for decision-making and coordination to ensure swift responses to the crisis. Technical and national-level taskforces will be formed, involving experts from national and local institutions to analyze the situation, evaluate reports, and provide recommendations.
These taskforces will meet regularly and develop a checklist to ensure a coordinated field response while improving Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
The Government will also launch a community awareness campaign in the affected areas to educate the local population on health safety measures and minimize potential health risks. A death audit will be conducted to ascertain the sequence of events and root causes of the fatalities. Additionally, clinical care teams will be stationed in Rajouri with support from institutions like AIIMS and PGIMER for timely intervention.
Dr V K Paul, Member, NITI Aayog, chaired the meeting to bring together national and local expertise for resolution of the crisis. The focus of the meeting was to review the ongoing management strategy, identify the root cause of the deaths, and devise measures to prevent further fatalities.
The meeting, led by Dr Paul, included officials and experts. Besides Atal Dulloo, Chief Secretary, J&K; the participants included Punya Salila Srivastava, Secretary Health & Family Welfare, Government of India; L S Changsan, Additional Secretary Health & Family Welfare, Government of India; Dr Syed Abid Rasheed Shah, Secretary Health & Medical Education Department, J&K; Prof (Dr ) M Srinivas, Director of AIIMS, New Delhi; Dr Rajiv Bahl, Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi; Prof (Dr ) Atul Goel, Director of the National Centre for Disease Control, New Delhi; Prof (Dr ) Vivek Lal, Director of PGIMER, Chandigarh; Dr Bhaskar Narayan, Director of CSIR-IITR, Lucknow; Dr Surkhminder Kaur, Director of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Ministry of Home Affairs, Chandigarh; Dr Atul Goel, Director General of Health Services (DGHS), New Delhi; Dr Pratima Murthy, Director of NIMHANS, New Delhi; and Director MHA (JKL).
The technical experts included eminent scientists in the fields of Toxicology, Microbiology, Medicine, Virology, Genetics, Epidemiology, Forensic Medicine, Neurology, Pathology, Pediatrics, Pharmacology, and Immunology. These specialists brought their expertise to the discussion to ensure a multi-disciplinary approach to understanding and addressing the crisis.
Meanwhile, a Government spokesperson said that there was no fresh case of `mysterious illness’ from Badhaal area during the last two days while condition of the patients, already admitted to GMC Rajouri, was stable.
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