All of them complained of uneasiness, sweating, stomach ache and vomiting. (Source: Express file photo) All of them complained of uneasiness, sweating, stomach ache and vomiting. (Source: Express file photo)

About 400 students of various schools of Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal fell ill on Thursday after being administered medicine in view of the National Deworming Day.

District chief medical officer (health) Prakash Mridha said reports of school children falling ill was reported from Moynaguri, Dhupguri, Moamari, Jalpaiguri and other places.

About 300 children have been admitted to different hospitals in the district and state Tourism Minister Goutam Deb and Mridha himself visited the children.

All of them complained of uneasiness, sweating, stomach ache and vomiting. Many of them rushed back home and were taken to hospitals by their family members, while many were shifted by the teachers. However, the condition of none of them is serious, sources in the hospitals said.

Mridha said the deworming medicine was instructed to be given to the children after their midday meal in school and the reason for their falling ill is being probed.

Deworming tablets are given to children to remove worms from their bodies. Parasitic worms known as soil-transmitted helminths and schistosomes cause various infections.

According to the doctors, the children have psychological fear of medicines which may have resulted in uneasiness among them or it might also happen if the medicines are taken empty stomach. Doctors also say that stomach ache, nausea and vomiting may be the side effects of the tablets and children often complained of the same.

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