Jammu, Dec 18 || After seven deaths were initially attributed to food poisoning earlier this month in Jammu & Kashmir’s Rajouri district, authorities have undertaken vigorous surveys to identify the actual medical cause of these deaths.
Seven members of two families died in Badhal area of Rajouri where doctors had initially said that food poisoning had caused these deaths.
“It is not a simple case of food poisoning. It could be contaminated water, petrified food or any lethal chemical that caused these deaths. It is a matter of thorough professional investigation”, official sources said.
In the aftermath of these deaths, J&K health minister, Sakina Itoo and tribal affairs minister, Javed Ahmad Rana visited Kotranka sub-division and chaired meetings of doctors, paramedical staff and the district administration.
Health and Medical Education Secretary Syed Abid Rasheed also attended the meeting wherein measures were discussed to prevent such occurrences in future after identifying the cause of those deaths.
Sakeena Itoo emphasised the urgency of strengthening healthcare systems and enforcing social distancing, expediting results from forensic laboratories and directing the Food & Supplies Department to collect and test additional samples and the Animal Husbandry Department to collect and test milk samples.