50 Students In Assam Rushed To Hospital After Taking Iron Folic Acid Pills

Altogether 50 students of two schools in Assam's Charaideo district were taken ill on Saturday purportedly after consuming iron-folic acid (IFA) tablets provided by Health department workers, official sources said.

The students were taken to the Sonari Civil Hospital, where they were treated and discharged later.

The officials said a health workers' team from Batau sub-centre under Patsaku Block primary health centre distributed IFA tablets to 75 students of Kheranipathar Lower Primary School and 26 students of Nimalia Lower Primary School.

The tablets were distributed in presence of teachers and the children were advised not to consume them on an empty stomach.

After a while, the health team received information from the school authorities that two children from each school were vomiting and complaining of abdominal pain.

"They were immediately taken to Sonari Civil Hospital and further health intervention. Later, 48 more children were taken to the hospital for examination," a source said.

A health department release said the situation is being closely monitored.

IFA tablets are given to children by the government as iron-folic acid supplements.

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