RAWALPINDI: At least 30 female students lost consciousness while over 350 others were affected as a result of anti-dengue fumigation carried out in Government Girls High School in Attock district's Jand area on Thursday.

Around 700 students were present inside the school premises when the spray was conducted by the Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA). Out of the total, some 400 students were affected by the fumigation and at least 30 fell unconscious.

The affected students were shifted to Tehsil Headquarters Hospital (THQ) Jand — a 40-bed hospital which had difficulty in accommodating some 400 students.

The parents of affected students rushed to the school, alleging that TMA ignored necessary precautions when it fumigated the school — such as carrying out fumigation in schools after 2pm, after school hours end.

Parents also suspected the quality of insecticide used in the spray, allegation that it had passed its expiry date.

Hospitals in Punjab have seen a surge in patients affected by Dengue virus in recent months. Dawn reported that despite spending millions of rupees on the anti-dengue measures, the disease is apparently getting out of the control of the health department in Rawalpindi.

Dengue mosquito (Aedes Aegypti) attacks in the hours around sunrise and sunset, a Sindh health department communication earlier told Dawn.

An environment expert, F. H. Mughal, earlier told Dawn that owing to the adverse effects of the chemicals on human health, people should be informed of the scheduled fumigation in their respective areas in advance so that they remained indoors and took precautions, besides covering eatables, fruit, vegetables, drinking water, etc.

Depending on the severity of exposure, the insecticides could cause skin, eye and respiratory track problems and, in some cases, dizziness. Extreme exposure could even prove fatal, he had added.