Schoolgirls in mass poisoning

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Blood samples taken from Afghan schoolgirls who collapsed in apparent mass poisonings showed traces of toxic chemicals found in herbicides, pesticides and nerve gas, the Health Ministry said.

Suspicion has fallen on sympathizers of the Taliban, the hard-line Islamist militia that opposes education for women and prohibited girls from going to school when it was in power until it being ousted by a 2001 US-led invasion.

Poisonous levels of organophosphates were found in samples taken from girls sickened in incidents over the past two years, said ministry spokesman Dr. Ghulam Sakhi Kargar.

Samples from more recent cases have been sent to Turkey for analysis and no results have been issued yet, Kargar said.

Last month, 48 pupils and teachers at Kabul's Zabihullah Esmati High School and 60 students and teachers at the Totia Girls School were hospitalized after fainting or complaining of breathing problems, dizziness and nausea.

Students say they began feeling unwell after being exposed to an unknown gas spreading through classrooms.

Most were released within hours. It remains unclear how the gas spread.

In addition to killing weeds and insects, organophosphates are the active ingredients of deadly nerve gases such as sarin and VX, and even low-level exposure can damage the nervous system.

Signs of organophosphate poisoning include headache, tiredness, upset stomach and breathing trouble, all similar to the symptoms shown by the students and teachers at the Kabul schools.

- AP