Children victims of unexplained illness in a school in Marne, the mystery thickens

Schoolchildren attending school in the small town of Fère-Champenoise, in the Marne, were victims of illness as they were preparing to go to the canteen. For the moment, neither the Regional Health Agency nor the prefecture have an answer, even if several avenues are being closely scrutinized.

But what is happening in the small town of Fère-Champenoise, in the Marne? Several dozen students, enrolled in the local primary school, suffered unexplained illnesses while heading to the canteen. No serious cases have been reported, but concern persists among parents. The establishment closed its doors on Monday and the possibility of carbon monoxide poisoning, once mentioned, is now ruled out.

It all started last Thursday when around twenty schoolchildren initially experienced nausea and irritation. While several of them were taken to hospital, the phenomenon repeated the next day with, this time, nearly 80 children presenting similar symptoms.

Several avenues are particularly scrutinized

Around twenty of them are even placed on oxygen in hospitals in the region. The school closed, the other students were accommodated in neighboring premises, but the same scenario repeated itself again. The residents and the mayor, Gérard Gorisse, are looking for explanations. “It’s a mystery. We are doing all possible means to reassure parents, but also the population. The most likely cause is certainly an ambient air problem in the municipality, but which comes from from a Source that we cannot detect”, explains the councilor.

For the moment, neither the Regional Health Agency nor the prefecture have an answer, even if several avenues are being closely scrutinized. “It could possibly be pollens, which are very allergenic, which would cause this type of reaction. There are also searches for chemical pollutants. At this stage, we have not detected a Source of these pollutants, but the work continues,” indicates prefect Henri Prévost. New analyzes will be carried out this Tuesday evening. One child is still hospitalized, but is out of danger while all the others have been able to return home.