Bengaluru: 500 students of Clarence High School fall sick, management blames street vendors; GBA says no link
Clarence High School in Bengaluru shifted to online classes after over 500 students fell ill with flu-like symptoms and confirmed H1N1 cases. While school management blames unhygienic conditions caused by local street vendors, health officials attribute the illness to a contagious, airborne seasonal flu.
Why it matters
This situation underscores public health challenges in educational institutions and the tension between school administrations and local civic authorities regarding sanitation and disease control.
After more than 500 students fell sick due to a seasonal flu-like illness and two H1N1 cases were confirmed among staff members, Clarence High School in Bengaluru was closed from August 14 to 18. Classes were shifted online.
In a letter addressed to civic authorities, Commodore Prem Reuben, Administrator, Clarence High School, stated, “There is a growing health crisis at Clarence High School, Richards Town, Bengaluru, that demands immediate intervention. More than 500 students (20% of our 2,500-strong student body) and 21 staff members are absent due to fever, cold, cough, and body ache. We have at least two confirmed cases of H1N1, and one staff member is currently undergoing treatment in Bangalore Baptist Hospital.”
Initially, the school authorities had closed the institution on August 12 as a precautionary measure. The letter stated that later, they decided to keep it closed from August 14 to 18.
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