Parents raise concerns after child in Abu Dhabi school falls ill

parents are Abu Dhabi private school It came into the spotlight after dozens of students fell ill in the last week of September.

They said about 70 children at Sunrise English Private School suffered from diarrhoea and vomiting.

Parents claimed the infection was due to poor hygiene at the school.

But the school told National 45 children fell ill, possibly after sharing food or other items and poor hand hygiene.

Inspectors dispatched by the emirate’s private school regulator also found that schools immediately took steps to fully sanitize and sanitize all facilities.

Abu Dhabi Ministry of Education and Knowledge Intervene after receiving a complaint.

“Health authorities have identified a number of health-related incidents among the students and reported them to Adek,” a representative said.

“Adek and the relevant authorities’ response team took immediate action to visit the school, collect samples for necessary testing and review the health and safety measures in place at the school.”

Adek said inspectors found the school had shown a high level of preparedness and took immediate steps.

Principal Thakur Mulchandani says sick children have been flu symptomsfever, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

He said the school dealt with the situation with the help of Adek and health authorities.

Mr Mulchandani said he asked parents to ensure the children were well kept hand hygiene And no food or personal items are shared.

The school said students were given bottled water after they turned off the water dispensers on Sept. 28 and had their tanks cleaned by professionals the same day.

“We took immediate steps to fully sanitize and sanitize all our facilities. We are still closely monitoring the situation and sanitizing as a precautionary measure,” Mr Mulchandani said.

“We had about 45 students who were unwell and they did go to hospital for treatment.

“Sanitation is not an issue; maybe sharing food might be the reason, because these kids aren’t drinking school water.”

Mr Mulchandani did not clarify whether the children stopped drinking water from the coolers before or after the first case of infection was reported.

He said the school sent a water sample for a purity check and received a clear report.

One parent, Lubna Basheer, said her nine- and seven-year-olds were very sick.

“My son came home on Tuesday [September 27] and complained of stomach pain and then started vomiting,” she said.

“We took him to the doctor because he couldn’t control any food.”

She said her son had recovered Influenza A before getting stomach trouble.

Two days later, her daughter developed the same symptoms and had to be taken to hospital.

“I’ve never seen anything like this. I think it’s school hygiene,” she said.

Ms Basheer said she tried talking to the school.

She said the school had introduced new drinking fountains following the incident.

A mother, who did not want to be named, said her 10-year-old daughter was ill.

“She was throwing up all the time, and when she started turning pale, I was terrified,” she said.

“I took her to the doctor and they gave her a blood test and found she had a serious infection and needed antibiotics.”

Updated: October 14, 2022, 7:10am