At least 30 students of PM Shri High School in Tilmi have fallen sick in Jharkhand’s Khunti district days after a school outing, health officials said on Monday. Vomiting, loose motions, high fever and stomach pain are among the symptoms reported.
The school had taken the students on 3 October to a gurukul at Dodma and to Rani Falls, both in Torpa block. Surveillance in the area has been stepped up so that any further spread can be caught early. They have not confirmed whether tainted food was responsible or whether an infection is behind it, and an investigation is under way.
Their condition is stable, according to officials. Officials have not yet said what caused the illness. Several of them have been admitted to the Karra Community Health Centre, where doctors are watching them closely. The health department believes the illness could be connected to that trip. Students reportedly cooked their own meal during the outing, and officials have also heard that some children ate from roadside stalls near the picnic spot. Most of the affected children belong to Tilmi village, though a few from nearby Masko and Barwadag have also fallen ill. On the instructions of Civil Surgeon Dr Lalit Ranjan Pathak, medical teams have been sent to all three villages. Health workers are going door to door to check on children and other residents, flag suspected cases and hand out medicines where needed. As a precaution, the district hospital has been put on alert. If any child’s condition worsens, arrangements are in place to move them there. Authorities say further medical and epidemiological examination will be needed to establish the cause.
The children, who come from Karra block, first showed signs of illness on Sunday evening, and more cases surfaced by Monday morning.
