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Article History

Received: 12 April 2026

Accepted: 9 July 2026

First Online: 3 October 2026

Declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate: Epidemiological investigation was carried out with the purpose of identifying the exposure factors and to institute immediate control measures to prevent morbidity and mortality as part of the public health response of Rajasthan State Health Department and National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), India. Ethical approval was not applicable as the investigation was conducted as part of public health response and consistent with applicable state and central government law (Epidemic Diseases Act no.3, 1897) and conducted with institutional concurrence. The investigation did not involve any sample collection for research or intervention. Only observational investigation was conducted as required for disease control, and hence, this investigation was considered non-research public health activity. Informed consent was obtained from all cases before interviewing them. Data protection protocols as per NCDC, ethical principles and guidelines by the Government of India, and the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards were followed during public health response.

Consent for publication: Not applicable as no identifiable individual case details are mentioned.

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.