None of the 30 students who fell ill at a secondary school, located only 3km from a foundry where caesium-137 radiation was detected, have been affected by radiation or COVID-19, according to findings by public health officials in Thailand’s Prachin Buri province.
The students suffered from symptoms related to a respiratory disease, said Dr. Suthep Petmark, the inspector of 6th Regional Health Office, today (Saturday).
Public health officials were sent to Ban Kok Krathon School in Lat Takhian sub-district after the students started to develop high fevers and runny noses, with and some suffering from pink eyes and rashes. The officials treated them in accordance with their symptoms and conducted blood tests on 13 of them.
Dr. Suthep said that the blood tests did not show that any of them were exposed to radiation, nor they were afflicted with COVID-19 adding, however, that officials continue to investigate the cause of respiratory disease.
He also said that people living near the foundry who have doubts, or who are concerned that they may have been exposed to the radiation, can visit their nearest health office for a consultation or they can call the Disease Control Department’s 1422 hotline for advice.
Symptoms associated with radiation exposure include loss of appetite, fatigue, fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and possibly even seizures and coma. People who receive a high radiation dose may also suffer from skin damage.
