Family members of ill children demonstrate outside school premises

Family members of the children who fell ill after being administered de-worming drugs at various districts, on Wednesday put up demonstrations outside the school premises. In many places the schools were ransacked by the mob. 

Students in large number from the districts of South 24-Parganas, East Midnapore, Hooghly and Howrah fell ill on Wednesday and were taken to various hospitals.

The State health department had asked the district officials to stop administering the drug among the students after the incident came up. The department had also sought a report from the district medical officers on the issue. Family members of the students ransacked a portion of Howrah Jogacha School and another school in Rishra in Hooghly after the students who had taken the vaccination in the two schools fell ill. The people had become infuriated after the school authorities had allegedly denied to talk to them. 

The victims’ family members alleged that drugs that were administered to the children were expired.

Hundreds of students complained of vomiting and abdomen pain after they had taken de-worming vaccination. 

Many parents became panicked and took their children to the hospitals in all the districts. 

A majority of the students were later released from the hospitals after primary treatment. 

The areas which were affected have been Bagnan, Shyampur, Uluberia in Howrah, Basanti, Canning and Gosaba in South 24-Parganas and Tomluk in East Midnapore. It may be mentioned that Albendazole 400 were given to the children after of many students had fallen ill.

The State Health department has been investigating whether the drugs were expired. The department also inquiring whether the students were in empty stomach when they were administered the drug.  

All the schools have been asked to stop the vaccination programme for now. According to a senior official of the State health department the situation is completely under control now and urged the people not to trigger panic.

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed at the Calcutta High Court in this regard.