Govt yet to find cause of schoolkids’ illness

SHILLONG, July 30: The Health department is ascertaining the cause of 21 students of Kyntiew Shaphrang Higher Secondary School, Laitlyngkot, falling sick after consuming iron and folic acid tablets.
Informing that it has not yet been established whether they fell ill because of the tablets, a senior health official, on Saturday, said, “The mystery is that if the problem was the medicine, it should have affected all 71 (students). We are trying to find out whether the 21 took the medicine without having their meal or not.”
According to a teacher, the students took the tablet after having their lunch and the medicine was received from the authorities of the SSA.
The Health official said, “Out of 72 students, 21 had this problem, we need to know why? The medicine is not expired. This particular medicine causes problem of nausea in pregnant women too.”
Stating that the students also ate jackfruit, the health official said the first one to fall ill was anaemic. He informed that all 21 of the students have recovered. However, two are still facing some complications, he added. Dr L Jaba of Laitlyngkot PHC, where the students were taken, said he has collected the medicine provided under the weekly iron and folic acid supplementation programme. Dr Jaba will submit a report to the Directorate of Health Services on the need to investigate the medicine.