Chips, drinks and sympathy among the reasons dozens vomited at NC school, officials say
Officials have determined why dozens of students became violently ill last week, causing their North Carolina elementary school to be evacuated.
According to Forsyth County health officials, there were multiple factors that caused 24 students and one adult to get nauseous and vomit on March 20 at Petree Elementary School, WGHP reported.
Officals said the students and adult became sick after drinking “a concentrated fruit-flavored liquid meant to be mixed with water,” or eating “large amounts of hot-and-spicy flavored chips,” according to WFMY.
Additional students threw up after they suffered “sympathetic vomiting,” which was described as “vomiting caused by the ‘sight/smell/sound’ of others doing so,” by the Forsyth County Department of Public Health, in a Winston-Salem Journal report.
Bad hygiene involving food and drinks shared by multiple students was also a factor in the powerful illness that swept through several students, per WGHP. An example was the students drinking “from the palm of their hands, directly from their lunch trays using straws, food items, their fingers or from the bottle directly,” according to the TV station.
Officials also ruled out other possible causes — including an “infectious disease, airborne agent or food-borne illness,” the Winston-Salem Journal said.
“I hope parents at Petree and across our district will join us in taking this opportunity to remind children they should always follow directions on any food packaging and reiterate that sharing food or drinks with classmates is not a good idea,” Interim Superintendent Dr. Kenneth Simington said after HAZMAT teams responded to the school, WFMY reported.
The school reopened for class on Thursday after the entire building was cleaned, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.
This story was originally published March 24, 2019 at 4:04 PM.
