No fewer than 64 students have been hospitalised after falling ill during a campaign to prevent and treat bilharzia at a secondary school in Katsina State
The students, from Government Science Secondary School in Batagarawa, reportedly developed vomiting, abdominal pain and dizziness after taking medication administered during the campaign.
Video footage on Wednesday, 28 October, 2026 by Viory News Agency showed students lying on hospital beds, some receiving intravenous fluids, while relatives attended to them.
A mother, Samira Muhammad, said she was alarmed after learning that her child and other students had been hospitalised in critical condition.
“We were told that our children were in hospital, fighting for their lives. Most of them were unconscious and slipping into comas. We rushed to the hospital and found them in critical condition,” she said.
One of the affected students, Aminu Sa’id, said he regained consciousness after being taken to hospital.
“I was brought to the hospital unconscious. I only realised I was in a hospital bed after regaining consciousness,” he said.
Another student, Anas Muhammad, explained that the medication dosage varied among the students based on their height.
“They measured our height because the dosage was based on height. Some students were given three tablets, others five, while some received two and a half,” he said.
Katsina State authorities have launched an investigation into the incident, as health officials work to establish the cause of the students’ reactions.
State health authorities said on Wednesday, 28 October, 2026 stated that over 80 per cent of the affected students had been discharged, while eight remained under medical care.
The investigation is expected to determine what triggered the reported reactions following the administration of the medication.
Bilharzia, also known as schistosomiasis, is a parasitic disease contracted through contact with freshwater contaminated by infected parasites.
Preventive treatment campaigns are commonly conducted in affected areas, particularly among schoolchildren, to reduce the spread and impact of the disease.
However, the precise cause of the illnesses reported in Batagarawa has yet to be established, and no conclusion has been announced linking the students’ condition to a specific drug or dosage error.
