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Dozens of students at a North Carolina middle school got sick for an unknown reason Monday (November 8), and the school district is investigating the cause.
On Monday afternoon, 45 students at Starmount Middle School in Booneville, west of Winston-Salem, came down with a mysterious illness, complaining of nausea and headaches while some of the students reported vomiting, WXII reports. The only grade that was affected was sixth, according to officials with Yadkin County Schools. Students in seventh and eighth grade were not affected by whatever cause the students to get ill.
After the students came down with the unknown illness, a shelter in place was ordered to separate those who were experiencing symptoms from students who reported feeling healthy. First responders were called to the school to help, but the school did not immediately send a message to parents.
"I understand parents were nervous and upset," said Todd Martin, superintendent for Yadkin County Schools. "No messaging went out [from the school] because I can tell you, I saw first hand, administration and front office staff were focused on helping students. That's first priority."
The Yadkin County Health Department is assisting the district with investigating the illness. While the official cause of the illness has not been confirmed, rumors circulated that it could be because of a carbon dioxide leak, something that Martin said has been ruled out. Another avenue they are exploring is that it could be food poisoning, but that has not been confirmed at this time.