This Article is From Jul 23, 2013

800 students sick after taking iron tablets in Haryana schools

800 students sick after taking iron tablets in Haryana schools
Chandigarh: Over 850 students suffered from nausea and complained of stomach ache after consuming iron tablets in government schools in several districts of Haryana, officials said on Tuesday.

The folic acid (iron) tablets were given to them as part of Haryana Health Department's supplementation programme to combat anaemia, they said.

There was no major cause for worry as the students had minor side effects after consuming the tablets, the officials said. The students include 150 girls from Jind.

Most of the children, who belonged to various districts including Hissar, Jind, Sonipat, Gurgaon and Faridabad, were discharged after treatment.

Out of 16 lakh students who were administered the iron tablets Monday, a total of 879 were found suffering from side effects such as stomach ache and nausea, a spokesman of the National Rural Health Mission (Haryana) said.

Majority of the children, however, did not show the general side effects like vomiting, he said.

No student was admitted to any hospital, the spokesman said, adding the children were immediately rushed to nearby health facilities and given first aid.

The weekly iron folic acid supplementation programme was started on Monday by the National Rural Health Mission in the state.
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