Jammu, Jan 18 : To address the fear and consternation among the inhabitants following 16 'mysterious deaths' in over one month, health department experts addressed a press conference in Budhal village of J&K's Rajouri district on Saturday and said that the deaths in the village had been caused by neurotoxins.

The press conference was chaired jointly by the principal of Government Medical College (GMC) Rajouri, Dr A.S. Bhatia and Budhal MLA Javed Iqbal Chowdhary. Dr Manohar Lal Rana, chief medical officer Rajouri; Dr Shamim Ahmed, Medical Superintendent, and Dr Zaeem Khan, Head of Chest and TB at GMC Rajouri were also present during the press conference.

Dr Bhatia informed the public that all the deceased individuals shared a common medical condition, brain swelling, or edema. He elaborated on the treatments being provided to affected individuals and assured that the health department was actively monitoring the situation.

The authorities emphasised that investigations were ongoing and promised continued support to the community while seeking to determine the cause of the deaths. Dr Bhatia said the neurotoxins found in samples analysed by premier laboratories of the country resulted in brain damage.

'We try to mitigate the problem of patients reporting with brain damage, but once the patient reports with serious brain damage, we cannot reverse the condition,' Dr Bhatia said.

It must be mentioned that samples collected from the village have been analysed at the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), National Institute of Virology, Pune and other laboratories. Test results did not show any virus or bacteria thereby ruling out any communicable disease. Tests, however, proved that toxins were found in the samples analysed.

The fact that all the victims of the 'mysterious' disease belong to three families created doubts about foul play.

The government has ordered an investigation by Rajouri Police to unravel the mystery behind 16 deaths caused in Budhal village between December 7 and January 17. Rajouri Police have constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to investigate the case.

/IANS