At least 64 students at Government Science Secondary School, Batagarawa, in Katsina State, have been hospitalised after developing adverse reactions following the administration of drugs during a Bilharzia prevention and treatment exercise.
The students were taken to Ahmadi Rimi General Hospital and Turai Yar’Adua Maternal and Child Hospital in Katsina after experiencing symptoms including vomiting, abdominal discomfort and dizziness.
Some reportedly arrived at the hospitals unconscious, triggering concern among parents and members of the school community.
The Medical Director of Ahmadi Rimi General Hospital, Dr. Auwal Sani, confirmed that some of the students were brought in unconscious but said they were responding positively to treatment.
He explained that health workers measured the students’ heights to determine the appropriate drug dosage before administering the medication.
Two affected students, Abubakar Muhammad and Hassan Muhammad, said the number of tablets given to each student varied.
According to them, some received three tablets, others two, while some were given one, depending on their height.
A parent, Ma’aruf Sani, who visited his children at the hospital, said they had fully recovered from the reactions.
The Katsina State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Yusuf Sulaiman Jibia, also confirmed the incident in a telephone conversation, saying all the affected students had recovered, and arrangements were underway for their return to school.
“The affected students have fully recovered, and we are making arrangements for their return to school,” Jibia said.
The commissioner said the exercise was conducted by the Primary Health Care authorities in collaboration with Batagarawa Local Government Area.
He assured parents and residents that there was no cause for alarm, adding that the state government would investigate the incident to establish what went wrong. He also said the students were being provided with food before returning to school.
Bilharzia, also known as schistosomiasis, is a parasitic disease commonly associated with exposure to contaminated freshwater.
Preventive treatment campaigns are conducted in affected communities to reduce transmission and the risk of complications.
However, the precise cause of the students’ reactions has not been established.
As of the time of filing this report, authorities had not released official findings to determine whether the incident was linked to the medication, dosage, or other factors.
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