Several school students fell ill during a campaign for the elimination of lymphatic filariasis in Bihar's Patna district on Wednesday (February 25, 2026), an official said.

The incident occurred in Ganpat Rai Tola of Athmalgola locality when the students consumed a medicine as part of the Mass Drug Administration campaign and were taken ill, he said.

Also read: India’s long battle with lymphatic filariasis: progress and the path ahead

The illness is said to be a side-effect of Albendazole medicine, administered to the school students under the MDA programme, the health department official said.

"Several children fell ill at a primary school in Ganpat Rai Tola, where our MDA campaign was underway. They are now safe and have no complications," the medical officer at Athmalgola CHC told reporters.

A Quick Response Team (QRT) and an ambulance were dispatched to the school immediately.

All the children who were slightly ill were taken to a hospital and treated, he added.

"The programme has been running for many days now, and no one has had any issues. The medicine is being administered all across Bihar," the medical officer said.

Filariasis is a parasitic infection caused by thread-like nematodes (worms) and primarily transmitted to humans through bites of infected mosquitoes.