Assam: 25 school children taken ill after measles vaccination

At least 25 school students were taken ill after being administered measles vaccine at Sahabad ME Madrasa under Katlicherra revenue circle in Assam’s Hailakandi district, officials said on Saturday.

Hailakandi Deputy Commissioner Adil Khan said  that the students were administered measles rubella (MR) just after the mid-day meal following which several of them complained of nausea, fever, stomach ache and vomiting.

Also Read | 26 students taken ill after having mid-day meal at Delhi government school

Officials said that the conditions of the students, who were taken to the nearby Katlicherra Block Public Health Centre for treatment, were stable adding, there was no reason to panic.

Joint Director, Health Services, Avijit Basu said that he had examined the vaccines administered to the 120 students of the school in the afternoon and found them to be in order. Also, Basu said that six students had been hospitalised while the rest had been kept under observation and would be discharged soon.

Ordering a probe into the incident, to be conducted by the joint director of health services and district immunisation officer, the deputy commissioner had asked the officials to submit a report immediately.

District Immunisation Officer (DIO) K Thambalsena said that the MR vaccine administered to the students was approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and was of high quality, adding there was no need to panic as common side effects such as fever, rashes, nausea and dizziness could occur in some cases following the vaccination.

Also Read | Jammu and Kashmir: 19 children rescued from Kathua’s orphanage 

As many as 2.15 lakh children of 1,485 schools in the district will be covered under the MR vaccination drive.

(With inputs from PTI)