An unidentified Afghan schoolgirl lies on a hospital bed after being suddenly stricken by an illness at a high school in Charikar, north of Kabul, on Monday. (Musadeq Sadeq/Associated Press)

Doctors in northern Afghanistan are investigating whether dozens of girls who abruptly took ill were poisoned while attending school on Monday.

One teacher and 61 students at the high school in Charikar — located about 50 kilometres north of the capital, Kabul — had to be taken to hospital after complaining of irritability, weeping and confusion, said the director of the town's hospital. Several of the girls passed out, said Dr. Khalil Farangi.

Blood samples from all those affected have been sent to a laboratory at a U.S. base in Bagram to be analyzed for traces of poison, he said.

Two weeks ago, schoolgirls in the same town, which is the capital of the province of Parwan, became ill after inhaling what witnesses described as strong fumes. Authorities suspect the girls were the victims of a poison gas attack, but local doctors have not been able to identify the offending substance.

No one has claimed responsibility for either incident, although the Taliban has a history of opposing female education.

Ten Taliban militants were arrested in November after they allegedly threw acid at girls walking to school in Kandahar that month.

Girls were banned from schools under the Taliban's hardline Islamist regime, which ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.

But the Parwan area has had a history of resisting the Taliban. The province even tried to keep schools for girls open during the Taliban reign.

Victims report strong sweet smell

Students interviewed at the hospital complained of a strong sweet smell, which was followed by headaches and bouts of dizziness.

Sarima Zakeri, 18, was on the school's second floor when she heard screams. As she ran downstairs, a strong scent hit her.

"It was less about the smell and more like a feeling, like having onion fumes in my eyes," said Zakeri.

She reported feeling light-headed as she made her way back home, where she passed out.

Sadia Akbari, speaking from a hospital bed while her parents held her hands, said she smelled something in class that she at first assumed was perfume.

Akbari said she left the school with rest of the girls and went home, but continued to feel dizzy and her eyes were stinging.

While recovering in hospital, she was shaking and sweating. She also complained of difficulty bending her fingers.

Nizamuddin Rahimi, a provincial education official, tried to downplay the incident, suggesting it was a panic attack after the students saw one of their colleagues collapse.

None of the afflicted girls were in critical condition, said Farangi, although some remained at the hospital.

The high school in question has both male and female students. The girls attend class in the morning, which was when the students became ill.

With files from The Associated Press