India probes mystery illness after 17 die

Authorities in India-administered Jammu and Kashmir were investigating a mysterious disease that has claimed the lives of 17 people, local media reports said Saturday. The deaths, including those of 13 children, have occurred in the remote village of Badhaal in Jammu's Rajouri area since early December.

The village was declared a containment zone earlier this week with around 230 people quarantined, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported. All of the fatalities had damage to the brain and nervous system, the head of Rajouri's government medical college said.

The federal government has launched an investigation with health minister saying an initial probe suggested the deaths were "not due to any infection, virus or bacteria but rather a toxin".  In a separate medical incident, authorities in the western city of Pune recorded at least 73 cases of a rare nerve disorder. Those infected with Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) include 26 women and 14 of the patients are on ventilator support.

According to the World Health Organization, the GBS syndrome can impact nerves that control muscle movement which may lead to muscle weakness, loss of sensation in the legs of arms and those infected can face trouble swallowing and breathing.