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The Katsina State Police Command has confirmed that all 154 students of Government Science Secondary School (Boarding), Batagarawa, who suffered adverse drug reactions have been fully treated and discharged, with no death recorded.
The command gave the update on Wednesday evening, following its earlier press release on the incident.
According to the police, the students developed symptoms after Praziquantel tablets were administered during a Bilharzia (schistosomiasis) treatment and prevention exercise on October 26.
The school’s principal, Sanusi Maude, had reported an outbreak of bilharzia at the school.
Health officials from the Primary Health Care Authorities in collaboration with Batagarawa Local Government administered the drug to over 700 students in two batches.
While the first batch administered on Friday, October 24, recorded no reactions, the second batch on Monday triggered severe reactions including vomiting, abdominal discomfort, dizziness, with some students arriving unconscious at the hospital. eefe
Following a distress call received by the Divisional Police Officer for Batagarawa at about 4:20 pm on October 26, the 154 affected students were evacuated to General Hospital Katsina, Amadi Rimi Specialist Hospital and Turai Yar’Adua Children’s Hospital.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Katsna, DSP Abubakar Sadiq Aliyu, said the remaining 25 students who were previously on admission have now also been treated, discharged and reunited with their families and schoolmates.
The police spokesman added that all affected students are in good health and fine spirits.
Earlier, the Medical Director of Amadi Rimi General Hospital, Dr Auwal Sani, confirmed some students arrived unconscious but were responding positively to treatment, noting that dosage was determined by height measurement.
The Katsina State Government said over 80% had been discharged as of Wednesday morning, with the Commissioner for Health, Hon. Musa Adamu Funtua, and Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Yusuf Sulaiman Jibia, stating that investigation is ongoing to determine the root cause of the reaction. cea6
Commissioner of Police, CP Ali Umar Fage, appreciated residents for their cooperation and calmness, and urged the public to disregard unverified rumours and fake news, particularly reports alleging deaths in the school.
He reaffirmed the command’s commitment to protecting lives and property
