India, Feb. 17 -- Panic gripped residents of Chayansa village on Monday after authorities in Haryana's Palwal district declared a health emergency following at least six deaths linked to liver-related complications in recent weeks.

Mohammad Ismail, the village sarpanch, said fear has spread steadily since the first reported case on January 14. "Since then, the entire village has been living in fear. One after another, 15 people have died," he said.

He added that most households rely on RO water for drinking.

"Initially, many people had diarrhoea and doctors suspected food poisoning or water contamination, but no report confirmed this. Now we are being told the deaths are due to blood-borne diseases like Hepatitis B, C and even HIV. We ...