Nestled deep within snow-clad mountains, the people of Takiya Magam talk in whispers. They talk about a disease they know little about. Of the 4,000 inhabitants of this village in south Kashmir, 300 have been found to be suffering from Hepatitis C.

The state Health Department has started screening the villagers and has already taken blood samples of more than 1,300 people. "We have sent the samples to the NCDC (National Centre for Disease Control) for genotyping to find the exact strain," Director, Health, Saleem-ur-Rehman told The Indian Express. "As a precaution, we have decided to test all the villagers, and everyday our team collects more than 100 samples."