AHMEDABAD: A sudden and baffling health scare has rocked J.M. Desai Vidhyamandir School in Jhank village of Dehgam taluka, Gujarat, where over 120 students have been struck by a mysterious eye condition, triggering a state-level medical response.
What began on 30 June with a few complaints of eye redness, burning, irritation, and double vision quickly escalated, affecting 122 out of the 225 hostel students. Alarmed by the scale of the outbreak, the school rushed the affected students to Gandhinagar Civil Hospital for urgent care and screening.
A Class 10 student from JM Desai School told local media, “After taking a bath in the morning, my eyes felt slanted and everything appeared blurry. The words in my book looked doubled. Even water tasted bitter and I didn’t feel like drinking it. I had to rush to the washroom repeatedly. That’s when the school staff brought me to the hospital.”
Despite treatment, 120 students were still reporting symptoms as of Wednesday, keeping health authorities on high alert. Though most of the children have now been discharged, two remain under observation due to persistent discomfort.
District Health Officer Dr Ashok Vaishnav told local media, “Out of 225 students residing at the J.M. Vidyalaya hostel in Jhank village, 122 complained of eye irritation, redness, itching, blurred and double vision after waking up on Monday. A team led by District Epidemic Control Officer Dr Jignesh Asari immediately conducted health check-ups at the Kadadara Primary Health Centre.”
Dr Vaishnav further noted, “While 120 students have been discharged after treatment, two students are still experiencing dizziness and are under treatment at the hospital.”
Meanwhile, Dean of Gandhinagar Medical College Dr Ankur Jhalawadia said, “To determine the exact cause of the symptoms, gastric lavage samples have been sent to the FSL, while blood and urine samples have been sent to the Choline Esterase Laboratory. The results, expected in two days, will confirm whether any poisoning is involved.”
With the cause still unidentified, state officials remain puzzled. Departments of health, food safety, and education have launched a joint probe, collecting water and food samples from the school premises and hostel. The samples have been sent to laboratories, and authorities are now awaiting results to pinpoint the source of the mysterious outbreak.