The doctors treating patients of a mysterious illness breakout in Baddal village of Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri suspect that a chemical compound organophosphates could be the reason behind the deaths of 17 people from three families, The Indian Express reported.
Organophosphates are chemical compounds found in pesticides and insecticides.
Doctors said to The Indian Express that patients from the same village, who showed similar symptoms improved after receiving “atropine injections.” These injections are commonly used to treat toxicity caused by organophosphates.
Doctors also said that the condition of 11 people from same families is now stable. They are currently admitted to the Government Medical College in Rajouri. Three members were discharged on Monday.
The deaths were initially suspected to be caused by food poisoning.
Last week, the state administration declared Baddal village a containment zone and quarantined nearly 300 people. They also sealed a natural reservoir after traces of pesticide or insecticide were found in the water.
Earlier, The Indian Express reported citing sources linked to the investigation, that pesticide residues in a nearby water reservoir are the cause of the mysterious deaths.
The source said that the investigation team collected water samples from the area and found traces of pesticides in their initial examination. The team also included experts from the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.
Seventeen members of three families from Rajouri’s Budhal village have lost their lives due to the mysterious illness.
Teams from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) have been sent to the area for investigation.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah formed an inter-ministerial team on Saturday to investigate the mysterious illness. The team visited the village to determine the cause of the deaths.
Authorities screened 9,000 to 10,000 houses earlier to collect data on the presence of any virus or bacteria.
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J&K mystery illness: Doctors suspect organophosphates, a pesticide, could be behind 17 deaths
