The hospitalisation of some students in Udham Singh Nagar district after they popped Albendazol tablets on the National Deworming Day on Wednesday has debunked the claims of the State health department about total success of the deworming drive.
Fifty-two students of the Government Inter-College Bagha in Khatima of Udham Singh Nagar took ill after the drug was administered to them on Wednesday. The locals claimed that the drug induced complications like nausea and vomiting in the schoolchildren. A harried administration rushed these students to the hospital.
In the drive, children in the age group of 1-2 years were given half tablet of Albendazol (400 mg) crushed and mixed with water while children above age of 2 years were given 1 full tablet of 400 mg which they chewed. When contacted, the Director-General (DG) of state health services, Dr Kusum Narriyal told 'The Pioneer' that most of the students were released after initial treatment. "I am in regular touch with the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Udham Singh Nagar on the issue. A total of 16 students are currently admitted in local CHC and all are out of danger,'' she said.
The DG claimed that the drug is usually safe and it appears that most of the children had psychological effect after some of the students developed some complications.
Medical experts are of the view that Albendazol if taken on empty stomach could cause complications like nausea and dizziness. On the initiative of the Union Ministry of Health, a massive one-day campaign was conducted on February 10 where Albendazol was administered to children of 1 to 19 years. In Uttarakhand the Government had set a target to administer the drug to 20 lakh children across the State.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), India has the highest incidence of soil transmitted helminthes in the world as 220 million children of age group 1- 04 are infected by worms. The worm induces malnutrition and anemia in the children.