51 girls fall sick at residential school in Karnataka's Chitradurga

Hiriyur (Chitradurga district): As many as 51 girls at Kittur Rani Chennamma Residential School in Aimangala village in Hiriyur, Chitradurga have taken ill possibly after consumption of contaminated food or water.

Of the 51 girls, 26 are being treated at the Maradihalli Community Health Centre (CHC). The doctors at the CHC recommended taking seven girls to the Chitradurga District Hospital for further treatment. Meanwhile, the others were tended to at the school hostel.  

All the 267 inmates of the hostel had food on Thursday night. Soon after, some girls started complaining of nausea, besides bouts of dysentery. The staff at the hostel were quick to ensure medical attention to the affected girls. On Friday morning, more girls started complaining of the same symptoms after having their breakfast.

Although doctors from the nearby Primary Health Centre were called in to treat the students, girls left drained by the illness were shifted to the CHC, some of whom were subsequently shifted to the Chitradurga District Hospital. The doctors have confirmed that the girls are on the path to recovery,.

Although the exact cause of the sudden illness among the girls is yet to be ascertained, Health Officer Dr Vijay Shanke suspects it could have been brought about either by food poisoning or consumption of contaminated water. “Blood and urine samples collected from the girls have been sent to the laboratory for analysis. We will know what caused the illness once we get the results of the tests,” he added.