Bizarre outbreak of Tourette syndrome-like symptoms baffles school district
November 27, 2011 by Leslie E. Packer PhD
Filed under News
An upstate New York school district has a medical mystery on their hands: at least six students suddenly erupted in Tourette-like tics and the district doesn’t know why or what has caused it.
Geoff Redick reports:
Officials in the LeRoy School District are still uncertain what exactly is causing a number of students to display sudden symptoms, similar to Tourette’s Syndrome.
Superintendent Kimberly Cox tells WBTA News today that medical personnel continue to investigate the case, in which several students are apparently displaying “tics” – twitches or vocal exclamations that the sufferer cannot control.
The “tics” are commonly associated with Tourette’s syndrome, though a neurologist tells WBTA News there many be many other causes for them.
[...]
In a statement on the LeRoy website today, Cox says no apparent connection has been found between the students.
Other coverage can be found on MPN and WKBW.
Curiouser and curiouser. The neurologist is quite right that there are a number of possible explanations, and I would be that they are all being pursued right now.
I am glad to hear Erin Brockovich is investigating. I don’y buy the mass hysteria explanation and neither do the parents. Some people suspect a bad vaccine batch. Hope she gets to the bottom of it.