Bolpur, June 5: At least 50 persons, including a number of children, fell ill after consuming the anti-filaria medication distributed by a district health department team in Bolpur, around 170 km from Calcutta, on National Filaria Day today.

One dose of DEC tablets is given once a year to an individual to create resistance against filaria.

The people fell sick in the morning when a trained team of volunteers from the health department distributed anti-filaria tablets in a door-to-door drive, advising people to take the medication to resist filaria.

The team described the dosage as four tablets for a child and six tablets for an adult.

However, after taking the tablets as advised by the volunteer team, many of the residents started throwing up.

Later, a team of doctors and paramedics was sent to check on those who feel ill. The victims will also be provided with treatment at Bolpur subdivisional hospital, if necessary.

Housewife dies

A 32-year-old woman was allegedly burnt to death by her husband, the adopted son of a former registrar of Calcutta University, on Saturday night.

Shantanu married Jhuma, an orphan, about five years ago. The couple have a four-year-old daughter.