Barisal Correspondent :
At least 40 school students including six boys and 34 girls from Nayani High School and Azad Govt. Primary School of Charkawa union under Sadar upazila of Barisal district became sick from mass hysteria on Monday noon..
Among them 31 students including 25 school girls and 6 boys admitted at Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital on that day .
All of the admitted boys and girls were students of class five to eight of the schools.
Abdul Malek, headmaster of Nayani High School , said the students were attending classes normally in the morning. Suddenly two students of class VIII became sick and senseless with convulsion and vomiting.
Then the sickness spread among other students of Class six to eight at about 11:30 am, he told.
We informed Sultan Ahamed, president Managing Comittee and he advised us to send the sick students to hospial suspending classes of the school.
Accordingly we admitted 23 students including 17 girls and 6 boys at Barisal SBMCH with the help of guardians and local UP member, Abdul Malek added.
Majibor Rahaman, headmaster of Charkawa Azad government primary school said at least 10 students became sick and we admitted 8 girl students at Barisal SBMCH.
Dr. Das Ranabir doctor on duty of SBMCH emergency ward said the victims became sick after affected with mass-hysteria with symptoms of convulsion and vomiting.
It may be caused from food poisoning or from physical weakness, psychological pressure, fluctuation of blood pressure, and mental affects created after seeing others sickness and usually affects the females, said Dr. Asim Kumar Saha, head of the child department at SBMCH.
However, the attending doctor said the condition of the patients now stable and cause of sickness could be determined after clinical test reports would be available.
