Health Deptt rules out public health emergency
Srinagar, Jan 20: The Health Department of J&K has screened 10,000 individuals in Badhaal village of Rajouri and around it, for symptoms similar to those who lost life in 'mysterious' circumstances.
None has been found to exhibit those, the authorities said, ruling out a ‘public health emergency.’
By January 19, all the six children of Muhammad Aslam, who had been admitted to GMC Rajouri and later to SMGS Hospital, Jammu on January 12, died. The family also lost two elderly members in the wave that struck them this year, within eight days. Earlier two more families lost a number of members in December 2024.
Currently, no person with symptoms is admitted at any hospital, the health authorities said, adding that the Special Investigation Team from J&K Government and Ministry of Home Affairs team were carrying out examinations and surveillance of the environment and people in the area.
To prevent further families getting affected by the illness the exact cause of which is yet to be ascertained, the health department has been carrying out door to door surveillance.
Speaking to Greater Kashmir, Chief Medical Officer Rajouri, Dr Manohar Lal Rana said, “We have conducted extensive screening of residents, repeatedly covering 1,600 to 1,700 houses, and have screened nearly 10,000 houses. We have meticulous records, with day-wise and date-wise data," he said.
He said immediately after the outbreak, the health department deployed teams, which have been conducting active and passive surveillance.
“We have medical mobile units, which include child specialists," he said, adding that there were teams for the entire district, with workers at the field level.
He said that there was no need to declare the deaths in the three families as a “public health emergency.”
“We have thoroughly checked the public health systems and parameters to ensure everything is in order. The viral test results are negative, and we have found no issues on the vectorology side either. Therefore, we do not consider this a public health emergency," he said.