Public healthMysterious incident leaves more than 20 high-schoolers sick

Published 9 November 2011

Public health authorities in Texas are investigating a mysterious incident that left more than twenty people sick during a high school football game in Houston last Friday; the stadium was immediately evacuated and a Hazmat team dispatched, while a total of twenty-two students were taken to several local hospitals for treatment

 

Public health authorities in Texas are investigating a mysterious incident that left more than twenty people sick during a high school football game in Houston last Friday.
At around 9:00 PM, the victims, primarily band members and dancers from Austin High, all began suffering from nausea, vomiting, and heart palpitations.
The stadium was immediately evacuated and a Hazmat team dispatched, while a total of twenty-two students were taken to several local hospitals for treatment. 
Officials immediately suspected that the students had been exposed to an unknown chemical, but fire officials said they found no traces of gases or chemical agents on the scene. 
“A number of the students were complaining of nausea,” said David Almaguer, the assistant chief of the Houston Fire Department. “We ended up with 22 students being transported to five different hospitals.”
A student, speaking to a local Fox News affiliate, said he smelled something strange and then noticed that his sister lost consciousness.
Meanwhile another witness told KTRK-TV, “Three dancers moved to the side and started throwing up, then as we got to the stands, more started falling.”
David Purse, an Emergency Medical Services doctor, said authorities are still trying to determine the cause of the illnesses. According to Purse, fire officials were unable to detect any gases or chemicals in the area and the students all had eaten different foods. 
“The kids all ate at different places, some of them ate at different times … but they did have something in their stomachs. At this point, it remains a little unclear what set it off,” Purse said.