Cuban students receive medical attention for health incident

 MATANZAS, Cuba, Jan 24 (ACN) Students of the Jose Luis Dubrocq Pre-University Institute (IPU), in this western city, are receiving medical attention after inhaling an as yet unidentified substance in the educational institution itself, which caused respiratory problems.

According to Edilberto Casanova Armenteros, provincial director of Education in the province of Matanzas, it was reported to the press that the students, specifically those located on the second floor of the center and belonging to the 10th grade block, perceived a smell that was not common in the environment.

A few minutes later, the Pre-university was deactivated for the rest of the day in order to prevent greater harm, to compensate the psychological state of the students and teachers, as well as to facilitate the investigation process, the director said.

A group of officials from the territorial delegation of the Ministry of the Interior (MININT), the Integral Training Schools for Minors and the Ministry of Education are investigating to define what substance caused the affectation and where it came from.

Julio E. Hernandez Sanchez, director of the Eliseo Noel Caamaño Pediatric Hospital, pointed out that 22 patients have been received so far, of whom four were transferred to intermediate therapy, they are reported to be in good care and their different treatment is due to the fact that they have associated chronic diseases.

The rest have been kept under observation for four hours, but they are showing a favorable evolution and we hope that they will continue in this way for the next few hours. The response was quick and all the patients who arrived with some condition were received," the doctor stated.
The Jose Luis Dubrocq Pre-University Institute (IPU), one of the main higher education centers in the territory, currently has an enrollment of 956 students and 65 staff members.