As many as 250 children or more are having fever and complaining of dizziness and nausea, a trend that doctors are partially attributing to the ongoing spell of scorching heat. Due to this, many students stayed away from class in the last couple of days and parents have informed the authorities that the children were running a temperature, the heads of two schools said.

In the junior section of one of the schools in Gajuwaka, around 10 students from each class on an average were absent on Wednesday. Among those who turned up, many threw up, teachers said. On Tuesday, a Class I student was found to be running a temperature of 101 degrees Fahrenheit at 9 am, an hour after classes started for the day. The parents were called and the child was sent back home. 

"Some parents have been calling us and saying their children were feeling lethargic, getting dehydrated, and running a temperature. As a matter of fact, children have lost the habit of going to school because of the Covid pandemic. The current spell of heat has only added to their health problems," said a senior official of the District Health Administration. 

Many doctors said children aged between five and 12 were suffering the most. Many mothers observe their kids for running a temperature on in the evening, hours after they return from school. 

“Usually classes end at 1 pm. My daughter is home by school bus, which is not air-conditioned. Once getting off at the bus stop, she has to walk for some distance in the heat. When she reaches home around 1.50 pm, the level of discomfort is at its peak said Mrs. Namrata Rao, a resident of NGGOs Colony in Akkayyapalem.

Almost every Mother has been sharing stories of their children’s sufferings -- from feeling dizzy to headaches -- in WhatsApp groups. Many of the children are reluctant to eat. "In some classes, 10 to 12 children were absent on Wednesday. They (those who turned up) were not their usual self and some were throwing up. We are flexible and allow them to stay back home," said the principal of Convent school in the Ramnagar area.

Another school in MVP Colony said the number of leave applications has gone up. “Almost 80 percent of the leave applications that I approved were from parents of children who remained absent because of cold and cough, dehydration, and fever," said the Vice-Principal of the ICSE affiliated school. 

The Vizag city and its suburbs have been reeling from heatwave-like conditions since Sunday. “The prevailing heatwave-like conditions have created problems for children. Due to the closure of schools and campuses for the Covid Pandemic in the last two years, children were not exposed to each other. But, now they are and the viral fever is getting transmitted from one child to another," said a prominent pediatrician in Visakhapatnam.

Other doctors with whom hello Vizag spoke, said children should wear light cotton clothes, drink plenty of water and carry extra bottles to school. Also, school authorities must ensure that the water which they provide, must ensure that it is not contaminated.