About 200 girls in a small town in northern Colombia got sick after being injected with a vaccine against the human papillomavirus (HPV), locals claimed.

In the northern town of El Carmen de Bolivar, dozens of girls aged nine to 16 who were vaccinated against the sexually transmitted disease complained about symptoms such as numbness in the hands, headaches, and fainting.

Like Us on Facebook

Though some dismissed it as a case of mass hysteria, parents are demanding for a probe to find out what really happened to their daughters.

The first cases emerged in May and increased in volume until the last week of August when about 120 young girls were taken to medical facilities after experiencing the above-stated symptoms.

Though no fatalities have been recorded and all of the patients have been discharged, local residents consider Gardasil, the HPV vaccine, to be the culprit.

"They vaccinated me in May and I started fainting in August. My legs became heavy and I couldn't feel my hands anymore. When I woke up, I was in the hospital," Eva Mercado, a 15-year-old resident told the AFP.

According to her, she had passed out at least seven times in a month after receiving the vaccine.

Local doctors have searched for other possible causes of the mysterious illness, including hypoglycemia or drug abuse, but to no avail.

Local hospital official Augusto Agamez stated that they have neither diagnosis nor any specific treatment for the illness, although patients are taught breathing exercises and  given saline solution and oxygen before being discharged from the facility.

Meanwhile, Gardasil manufacturer Merck released a statement emphasizing that all released packages of the vaccine passed safety and quality standards, adding that they "do not comment on speculation about our products."

However, based on the Merck website, fainting and headaches have been listed as common side effects of the product.

TagsColombia, mystery illness, vaccine, sexually transmitted, human papillomavirus, HPV, Injection