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Jammu, June 9 (PTI) Thirty-five villagers were hospitalised after falling ill due to a mysterious illness in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, prompting the health department to collect water samples and seal the local water sources, officials said.

The incident follows a mysterious illness that claimed 17 lives from three families at Badhaal in the same district between December 7, 2024, and January 19 this year.

"Thirty-five persons from Kotliparran village in Manjakot tehsil were admitted to the hospital after falling ill in the past few days. All are stable. Four of them have been referred to the Government Medical College (GMC) in Rajouri," a doctor heading the medical team told reporters in the village.

A team from the health department has visited the village, collected water samples, and sent them for testing, he said.

The patients exhibited symptoms of waterborne disease, prompting immediate medical attention, officials said. While investigations are underway to ascertain the exact cause of the illness, health officials suspect contaminated drinking water.

"A team from GMC Rajouri collected water samples from three local wells. The district administration has sealed the wells pending test results," the medic said.

"It can be a possible outbreak of acute gastroenteritis, according to the information received from the community medicine department. The symptoms included stomach pain, fever, dehydration, and diarrhea," he added.

Health officials are closely monitoring the situation after assuring the public that appropriate measures are being taken to ensure public safety.

Seventeen people, including 13 children and four adults, died within 50 days due to a mysterious illness at Badhaal village from last December till January this year.

The authorities declared the entire village a containment zone and shifted the residents to a quarantine centre, where they were released after over a month-long stay. 

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)