879 students ill after consuming iron tablets

Chandigarh, July 24: Nearly 880 government school students fell ill on Tuesday after consuming iron tablets at Sohna, Pataudi and Sikenderpur block in Haryana.

The folic acid (iron) tablets were given to them as part of Haryana Health Department's supplementation programme to combat anaemia, officials said.

The students were rushed to Gurgaon civil hospital after they complained of giddiness and pain in abdomen, they said.

Out of 16 lakh students who were administered the iron tablets, 879 were found suffering from side effects such as stomach ache and nausea, a spokesperson of the National Rural Health Mission (Haryana) said.

Majority of the children did not show the general side effects like vomiting, he added.

Most of the children, who belonged to various districts including Hissar, Jind, Sonipat, Gurgaon and Faridabad, were discharged after treatment, the officials said.