Bhubaneswar: More than 200 children across the state have fallen ill after allegedly consuming the deworming drug ‘Albendazole’ given by the school administration Wednesday.
The worst affected areas are Narasinghpur in Cuttack district, where 86 students of the Bandhahuda Primary School reportedly fell ill after being the tablets and Chhendipada of Angul district where more than 75 students of the Brahmanbila Nodal Upper Primary School fell ill.
In Khurda, more than 30 children of Budhapada Project UP School were shifted to Capital Hospital for emergency treatment when they fell ill after allegedly consuming the deworming drug.
As many as 11 students of several schools under Nilagiri block of Balasore fell ill after taking the de-worming medicine, while seven students of Chhepapali primary school under Sonepur block of Subarnapur district fell ill after having the tablets.
The condition of two students of the Nodal Upper Primary School of Dangarpaunsi under Kundura block in Koraput district turned critical after they were administered the de-worming tablets. Two students of Nabarangpur district had also taken ill after having the tablets.
Similar cases of children falling ill after consumption of the drug were reported from Nirakapur in Cuttack district Wednesday.
“We were given the drugs by our school teachers who asked use to consume them. We had the drugs but after that our health started deteriorating. We developed stomachache and started vomiting,’ said Rajyalaxmi Kanti, an eight-year-old student of the Budhapada School in Khurda.
Initially nine kids were admitted to the pediatric department of Capital Hospital. However, later more than 20 other students thronged the hospital for treatment after their health deteriorated.
The parents of the children blamed the school administration for negligence.
“Many kids fell ill after consuming the drugs post lunch. Many started vomiting while others complained of nausea and stomachache. We were told by our children that the teachers threatened them that if they did not have the drugs they would be punished,” said the mother of Akash Penthui, a student of Class VIII of the Khurda school.
The hospital administration meanwhile said the children have been kept for observation. “All the reported cases are minor. We are observing the condition of the children who came here. Most of them are likely to be discharged soon,” said Dr Prabhkar Sethi, attending pediatrician at the hospital.
A few politicians also visited the hospital to take stock of the situation, with some of them seeking a high-level inquiry into the case.
“This is unfortunate and a high-level probe must be ordered to seek more details about the incident,” said Suresh Kumar Routray, a Congress leader and a former minister.
In Nabrangpur, Sheikh Arman, a Class V student of Narasinghguda High School and Gurubari Harijan, a Class VII student of Pilika Upgraded Primary School of Sadar block vomited after taking the medicine and were rushed to the district headquarters hospital. Their condition is stated to be stable.
State health secretary Arti Ahuja, however, said that there is not much cause for worry. “This is a random incident. There is nothing to worry about consuming deworming drugs in the state,” she said. PNN
