Gurgaon: The number of Gurgaon government school students taken ill after eating iron supplement tablets the day before rose to 146 yesterday, officials said.
Most of the students who were administerd the iron tablets complained of vomiting, diarrhoea, headache and stomach pain.
At least 26 students, who were given iron tablets on Monday, were admitted to civil hospital here. Another 30 students, from different parts of the district, were treated at Bhondsi primary heath centre, said a doctor.
“As many as 146 student with different illnesses were treated in primary health centres and community heath centres,” an official, who did not wish to named, told IANS.
Parents of some of the affected children admitted them to private hospitals. A large number of students from different parts of the district yesterday missed their classes.
A Haryana government spokesperson admitted in Chandigarh that across the state 879 children were found suffering from mild side-effects like stomach ache and nausea after being administered iron folic tablets under a statewide campaign.
Gurgaon Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Pushpa Bishnoi told IANS: “Students reported giddiness after consuming iron tablets but there was nothing to worry.”
The tablets were given to students as part of the relaunch of Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplement (WIFS) programme by Haryana’s Health Department. Iron supplement tablets help in overcoming anaemia. IANS
