At least 45 learners from Dowa Secondary School were on Monday rushed to Mponela Rural Hospital after allegedly experiencing stomach pains, headache and vomitting.
The school’s head teacher Saulos Mdalamba said in an interview on Tuesday that the incident happened on Monday around 6pm hours after the students took a bilharzia prevention vaccine.
The Ministry of Health and Sanitation is currently administering bilharzia vaccine to children nationwide.
Mdalamba said health officials started the exercise around 3pm when most students had knocked off from classes at the school and around 6pm some learners started vomiting while others complained of headache and stomach pains.
He said: “So, we rushed the students to Mponela Rural Hospital for treatment.
We are happy that they have been discharged. So far they have not yet started attending classes as we are still monitoring them.”
Mponela Rural Hospital in-charge Owen Chipewa confirmed that the hospital had received about 45 students following a campaign on administering bilharzia vaccine in schools surrounding the health facility.
He said some learners started experiencing adverse drug reactions and were referred to
hospital.
Said Chipewa: “After assessing them, we discovered that they had some side-effects of the vaccine but they were mild adverse drug reactions and we decided to observe them right here at the hospital.
“We have been working closely with the school’s administration since yesterday.”
He appealed to parents and guardians to ensure that their children get vaccinated against bilharzia.
