Sixty three students of Shingkhar Primary School in Zhemgang have contracted chickenpox. Out of 139 students, 117 students who had the skin rashes were examined.
One of the boarding students had first contracted the disease on October 16. It spread rapidly thereafter, affecting even those who do not stay in hostel.
Chickenpox is an airborne disease that spreads through coughing or sneezing of ill individuals or through direct contact with secretions from the rash. A person with chickenpox is infectious one to two days before the rash appears.
Dr. Namkha Dorji of Zhemgang Basic Health Unit, who visited the school recently, said majority of the students stay in the hostel without beds and in cramped space, which might have caused the epidemic.
“Poor hygiene and close contact must have abetted the disease to spread quickly,” said the doctor
The School’s Principal, Rinchen Dakpa, said the infected students are recovering.
