Eight Schoolgirls Fall Ill After Vaccination and Lunch; Samples Sent for Analysis
They recovered and have been discharged on Tuesday morning
VIJAYAWADA: Eight schoolgirls staying in a private hostel at Machilipatnam in Krishna district fell ill on Monday night after receiving the tetanus-diphtheria (TD) vaccine earlier in the day and later consuming chicken biryani brought from outside.
According to Krishna district medical and health officer (DMHO) Dr. P.L. Dayakar, 33 hostel inmates had been administered the TD vaccine at about 11 a.m. as part of a special immunisation drive. Later, the students consumed chicken biryani during a birthday celebration. At around 7:30 p.m., eight girls complained of abdominal pain and muscle spasms and shifted to the government hospital for treatment.
They recovered and have been discharged on Tuesday morning.
The DMHO said 736 persons across the district have received the TD vaccine during a special drive, including 171 beneficiaries from Railpeta, of whom 33 are hostel students. He said no adverse reactions had been reported elsewhere in the district. Health officials suspect that contaminated food may have caused the illness.
According to the DMHO, a reaction to TD vaccine is typically in the form of itching and rashes within 30 minutes to one hour of vaccination. However, these symptoms have not been observed among the affected students. However, as a precaution, the Health department has stopped using the TD vaccine from the same batch and has sent samples for laboratory analysis, along with remnants of the food. Excise minister Kollu Ravindra visited the hospital on Tuesday and enquired about the health of the students. He said appropriate action would be taken after receipt of the laboratory test reports.
