A total of 33 female workers of an apparel factory in Uttara Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in Nilphamari were hospitalised on Saturday morning after they fell ill while on duty.
The incident happened at Gold Timing Manufacture (BD) Ltd at Tupir Mor area in Nilphamari Sadar.
The workers were admitted to Nilphamari’ Adhunik Sadar Hospital after they fell ill.
Gold Timing Manufacture (BD) Ltd is a sister concern of Chinese-owned Evergreen (BD) Ltd, an apparel factory at Uttara EPZ in the district.
A worker, Ayesha Siddiqa (20) fell ill and became unconscious at around 9:00am. Later, dozens of other workers also fell ill and lost consciousness, the workers told this correspondent.
“I felt a bad headache, pain in my body, suffocation and nausea and became unconscious,” Ayesha, who was being treated in the hospital, said.
Some of the workers complained that they became sick due to bad odour from some kind of chemical.
It is likely that the victims are suffering from mass psychosis, said Civil Surgeon of Nilphamari, Ranjit Kumar Barman.
“A total of 33 female patients have been admitted to the hospital so far — complaining of headache, nausea and respiratory problems,” said Afroza Khatun, attending senior staff nurse at the hospital.
“The patients’ condition is improving after they were given treatment with intravenous saline, and sedatives.,” said Dr Abdur Rahim, Emergency Medical Officer.
Nilphamari Deputy Commissioner (DC) Md Hafizur Rahman Chowdhury said that doctors were primarily suspecting that they might have fallen sick due to mass psychogenic illness (MPI) or mass hysteria amid fear of coronavirus outbreak.
