150 students of three residential schools in Gujarat suffer from cough & fever; 18 girls hospitalised

As many as 150 students of three government residential schools located within one campus in Gujarat’s Surat district suffered from a viral infection and 18 of them, all girls, were hospitalised with fever, officials said Sunday.

Wadi village in Umarpada taluka has a cluster of three residential schools with over 650 male and female students. Chief District Health Officer Dr Anil Patel said 150 of these students contracted upper respiratory tract infections with symptoms of cough and fever over the past three to four days. As many as 18 girl students suffering from fever were admitted to a community health centre on Saturday, he said.

The district administration deployed a team of more than two dozen health personnel to screen the students at the school campus and take care of their health, he said. “We have directed the principal to ensure that the airborne infection does not spread and keep students with fever and cough in isolation with face masks. A medical team of 30 personnel is on the school campus,” he said.