Respite for anxious residents, no new cases of illness reported since Friday
Rajouri, Jan 25: In a respite for Badhaal village, no new patients have been reported since Friday morning, while already admitted twelve patients are under treatment in GMC Associated Hospital Rajouri in addition to four other patients undergoing treatment in hospitals outside Rajouri.
This development comes as a relief after the village witnessed 17 mysterious deaths since December 7. According to Medical Superintendent Dr Shamim Ahmed, twelve patients undergoing treatment at GMC Associated Hospital Rajouri are now out of danger. Furthermore, he said, two patients in ICU observation are also showing significant improvement and are out of danger. The last case of illness to be reported was on Friday morning.
"The hospital's efforts to contain the situation and provide quality medical care to the affected patients are yielding positive results," he said. No new cases reported during the last 24 hours is a significant step forward in combating the mysterious illness that has plagued Badhaal village, be further said.
Meanwhile, the Atropine treatment has proven to be a blessing in the ill-fated village. Principal GMC Rajouri, Dr. AS Bhatia, in a press conference, revealed that after meticulous analysis of cases from three clusters on December 7, 12 and January 12, doctors decided to administer the life-saving drug Atropine, which has yielded remarkable results.
"In two cases, we witnessed sudden dip in heart rate after which our team headed by Medical Superintendent Dr Shamim Ahmed and HoD Medicines, Dr Jamil Khan decided to use Atropine with another salt and later it was seen that both the patients recovered within a few days and were discharged." said Dr AS Bhatia.
According to Dr Bhatia, the decision was then taken to use Atropine for new patients and the drug's efficacy has been nothing short of remarkable.
This breakthrough has brought hope to the affected families and the community at large as this drug has so far not only saved lives of patients but has also recovered them in a few days with two of our patients also out of ventilator support, he added.
"Use of Atropine and another medicine is allowed only under medical supervision and doctor presence as the medicine is to be used strictly as per prescribed dosage in milligrams." he said. The success of Atropine treatment in Badhaal village is a testament to the tireless efforts of the medical team and the district administration, who have worked in tandem to combat the mysterious illness, Principal GMC Rajouri further said.