Thread: We need to follow this story. This does not sound good.

'Twitching' Illness Hits Several Students, Staff at Virginia School


VINTON, Va. — A mysterious illness causing an odd "twitching" symptom has stricken several students and a staff member at a Virginia high school.

Testing continues at William Byrd High School in Roanoke County where students and staff have shown strange symptoms of twitching and spasms since September, but a cause has yet to be determined.

About 30 students staged a walkout and protest earlier this week, and the school has said about 300 of the school's 1,200 students have been absent.

School officials say they do not plan to close the school.

Roanoke County school officials and health officials have found no environmental cause for the symptoms, which have affected fewer than 10 students, the Associated Press reported.

"I have seen them in the hallway, and it seems pretty bad," said senior Charlie Wallace, told the Roanoke Times. "It's uncontrollable. Twitching, that's the only way you can describe it."

Students and parents met Monday night with officials from the school system, the Virginia Department of Health and the companies conducting the environmental tests.

Parents asked about the symptoms and urged officials to close the school and offer classes elsewhere. But Superintendent Lorraine Lange said that health experts said that based on the environmental test results, there's no need to close the school.

So far, the illness has sickened several students and a teacher at William Byrd High School and officials can't specify specific symptoms to watch out for.

But one mother said her child is experiencing bouts of sudden twitching and uncontrollable arm spasms, along with headaches and dizziness.

That's no consolation to students and parents, who paced an auditorium at a public meeting Monday night with officials from the school system, the Virginia Department of Health and the companies that conducted environmental tests.

Health experts tested for mold, and the school came up clean. Disturbed by the twitching that accompanies the illness, many students and parents want the school to remain closed.

"They wave. It's convulsing. They can't stop it," said senior Layne Gulli of the symptoms. "You don't know how to avoid it. You don't know if you're next, or if your friend is next, or if it's an epidemic."

"There's rumors it was carbon dioxide from the photography room," said sophomore Joe Bradshaw. "We heard it was lead paint. Nobody knows what it is.

THIS IS VERY DISCONCERTING. SOMETHING AT THAT SCHOOL, OR IN THE AREA OF THAT SCHOOL, IS AFFECTING THE NERVOUS SYSTEMS OF THOSE STUDENTS. THEY SHOULD CLOSE THE SCHOOL FOR AWHILE TILL THEY DETERMINE WHAT IT IS. AS FAR AS SENDING THEM TO ANOTHER SCHOOL....BAD IDEA. IF IT IS A VIRUS THEN STUDENTS AT THE NEW SCHOOL COULD BE EXPOSED. THEY NEED TO HOLD CLASSES AT ANOTHER LOCATION.

WHAT IS THE LINK TO THIS STORY??????????????????

CITIZEN: HERE IS A LINK TO THIS STORY:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,308958,00.html

THEY COULDN'T MEAN CARBON DIOXIDE COULD THEY? THEY MUST MEAN CARBON MONOXIDE.

I had carbon monoxide poisoning in an office where I worked. It took them months to figure out why we were always sick. We all had headaches and flu like symptoms but we didn't twitch.

WELL CARBON DIOXIDE IS WHAT HUMANS EXHALE. SO I DONT THINK ITS CARBON DIOXIDE.

ACTUALLY NOW THAT I READ ON....CARBON DIOXIDE CAN BE DANGEROUS IN REALLY HIGH LEVELS. BUT I DONT KNOW IF A PHOTO ROOM COULD PRODUCE THAT. BUT MAYBE IT COULD. SO I TAKE IT BACK. IT COULD BE CARBON DIOXIDE.

We all had headaches and flu like symptoms but we didn't twitch.

YES THE TWITCHING DOESNT FIT IN. I THOUGHT YOU JUST GET VERY SLEEPY AND GET A HEADACHE AND WITH ENOUGH EXPOSURE YOU DIE.

It sounds like some odd sudden-onset Tourette's Syndrome, but TS is almost always hereditary, although it has also been linked to extreme childhood trauma.

After conducting a quick Google search, some of the possibilities include cocaine or stimulants. Has it occurred to anyone involved with this high school that perhaps some of these kids and the teacher all dipped into some tainted nose candy?

EDIT: I just found "Wilson's Disease" which is like lead poisoning, but with copper instead of lead. I wonder if the health officials check for copper leaking into the water or something like that. Those sites say the disease is genetic, or at least genetically predisposed. I wonder if there's a contagion version of Wilson's ...

http://www.wilsonsdisease.org/content.asp?CAT_ID=14