Health experts have warned that albendazole can be harmful to children. (File photo by representative)
Dr. Shakya warned that Albendazole can cause side effects in children, including headache, vomiting, fatigue, elevated liver enzymes and fever.
The recent incident of deterioration in the health condition of over 75 students after consuming Albendazole, a medicine used to treat stomach worms, at a school in Madhya Pradesh has caused alarm among parents.
The incident took place at Khajuri Model School in Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh. The students suffered stomach pain and difficulty in breathing after taking albendazole. Currently, the district administration and medical teams are investigating the case.
It is common for parents to give albendazole to their children when they suffer from stomach aches, often as a result of hunger. While albendazole is believed to be harmless and effective in expelling worms, health experts have warned that this practice can be harmful to children.
In a conversation with News18, Dr Shobhit Shakya, Additional Professor at the Department of Internal Medicine, RML Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, discussed the side effects of Albendazole consumption and common mistakes that parents should avoid while feeding this anti-parasitic drug to their children.
Dr. Shakya said it is possible that children who are given Albendazole may start to experience side effects. Some common side effects include headache, vomiting, fatigue, an increase in some enzymes that affect the liver, and fever. Children may also experience difficulty breathing after taking this medication, although this condition is quite rare.
Dr Shakya said that overdose of this pill can lead to several problems. If the medicine is given in a proportion greater than the weight of the child, it can cause anemia, increased risk of infection due to reduced total leukocyte count (TLC), low platelet count, and bone marrow suppression. Therefore, it is always important to keep in mind that this medicine should be given in proportion to the weight and age of the child.
Dr Shobhit explained that albendazole is administered in two ways in India. First, under the eradication programme, this drug is given to children in government schools, Anganwadi centres or district hospitals. These are mass campaigns aimed at breaking the chain of parasites. These parasites need to be eradicated by administering drugs in groups.
This worm lives in the intestines of children, lays eggs there and passes them out through the faeces. It then reaches the fields and then the fruits or vegetables grown in them through the soil or water. If these are eaten without washing or cleaning the vegetables or without cooking them, this worm is transmitted to other people. In this way, the cycle continues. To destroy this cycle, Albendazole is administered in groups.
The second way is to prescribe this medicine only to those patients who have worms in the stomach. This is done only when there is real evidence of the presence of worms in the stomach and their symptoms are clearly visible. Doctors usually prescribe albendazole to such patients or a combination of several other medications.
Dr. Shakya said that if parents buy this medicine from pharmacies and give it to their children in case of stomach ache, worms in stool or diarrhea, it can have many side effects. This pill should not be given to children without the advice of the doctor.
If albendazole is administered through mass campaign or Anganwadi and is given after obtaining complete information from the patient, then it can be given to children.
Dr. Shakya said it is possible that this medicine is being given considering the child's symptoms, but the child may have another illness. Sometimes, this medicine is not effective without a combination.
Dr. Shakya even said that sometimes when the worm load in the stomach is high, even though the worms die after consuming this medicine, the protein coming out of these worms can cause reactions in children. In such a situation, it is necessary to consult a doctor.
