Latest update April 14th, 2026 12:38 AM
Sep 15, 2009 News

Pupils of the Mahaicony Primary School assemble in the midday sun before starting classes for the afternoon session.
Five students from the Mahaicony Primary School were rushed to the hospital yesterday morning after they fell ill during General Assembly. The students, one of whom collapsed in a state of unconsciousness, had complained of abdominal pains.
However, doctors at the Mahaicony Cottage Hospital could not give a definitive diagnosis of their problem.
One of the doctors told the media that he suspects that the children might have consumed something that caused a diarrhoeal infection, while it was confirmed that one of the victims had vomited while being treated at the hospital.
According to a teacher of the school, the students were attending the assembly at 09:00hrs when a male student cried out for abdominal pains.
Soon after another child complained of dizziness, while yet another collapsed to the ground, which resulted in a severe laceration to her forehead.
“There was some amount of chaos when the child fell and burst her forehead. She fell very hard,” the teacher told members of the media.
The teacher said that they were able to revive the child who had collapsed and all the affected children were taken to the hospital.
According to the teacher, the children were asked if they had consumed anything from vendors operating near the school. All denied doing so.
The teacher also stated that the children were cautioned to ensure that they walk with drinking water to school, since it is not hygienic to consume the water from the school taps.
Others opined that the children suffered from having to assemble in the outdoor heat for General Assembly.
But according to the teacher, while at the hospital, they were informed that another child from the nearby Mahaicony Secondary School had complained of similar symptoms.
Officials at the secondary school said that the child’s illness had nothing to do with any infection gathered from the school area.
There are reports of two more children from the Belladrum Secondary School on the West Coast of Berbice suffering from similar symptoms.
This newspaper observed one student from that school being treated at the hospital.
The children were given injections and other medication and authorities at the school and the hospital are monitoring the situation.
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