Many students hospitalized with possible poisoning

[alert]

Note the pink text. Mostly female might mean an exposure in a girls' bathroom, but we might be about to have that discussion on ProMed about "hysteria" again...

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/n...-children-in-hospital-with-signs-of-poisoning

Dozens of Kosovo children in hospital with signs of poisoning
Health News
Oct 1, 2009, 14:52 GMT



Pristina - Dozens of children, 14- and 15-year-olds from a school near the Kosovo capital of Pristina, were brought to hospital Thursday with signs of poisoning.

'The hospital is in a chaos, the patients are in hallways because we do not have enough beds,' a doctor who wished to remain anonymous told the German Press Agency dpa.

'Nobody knows what is the cause of the poisoning but what is interesting is that most of the patients are female,' the doctor added.

Local media reported that the children, suffering from stomach pains and breathing problems, said 'they felt an unpleasant smell in the air.'

The 5-kilometer road between the school in Kosovo Polje and the Pristina hospital was closed by NATO forces and the local police.

Hundreds of family members are waiting outside the hospital for news.

'We are waiting for the results of biochemical analysis,' the hospital's spokesman, Shpend Fazliu, told dpa. 'There is no need for panic. The hospital mobilized all doctors and nurses.'

 

[alert]

Re: Many students hospitalized with possible poisoning

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/...en-hospitalised-in-poison-scare--summary.html

Hundred of Kosovo children hospitalised in poison scare - Summary
Posted : Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:29:12 GMT
By : dpa
Category : Europe (World)
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Pristina - More than a hundred schoolchildren from a school near the Kosovo capital of Pristina were taken to hospital Thursday afternoon with signs of poisoning. During the day some 123 children were treated, doctors said.

The majority were released and sent home, but 16 were kept for further treatment. The patients had respiratory problems, muscle spasms and hypertension.

Local media reported that the children said they sensed an "unpleasant smell in the air."

The precise cause of the suspected poisoning was still unknown by evening and the hospital was waiting for the toxicology results.

"None of the patients is in critical condition. The situation is under control and there is no room for panic," the hospital said in a statement.

In a precautionary measure, the five-kilometer-long road between the school in Kosovo Polje and the Pristina hospital was closed by NATO forces and the local police.

Hundreds of family members meanwhile waited outside the hospital for news.

"We are waiting for the results of biochemical analysis," the hospital's spokesman, Shpend Fazliu, told the German Press Agency dpa. "There is no need for panic."

 

[alert]

Re: Many students hospitalized with possible poisoning

This sounds a little like Pandemic H1N1 in this article.

http://www.javno.com/en-world/kosovan-teens-hit-by-mystery-illness-in-schools_276960

Kosovan teens hit by mystery illness in schools Around 120 pupils, aged between 14 and 18, were admitted for treatment at Pristina's main hospital after falling ill in a nearby town.

Author:
AFPPhoto:
ArchiveTEXT Published: October 01, 2009 21:10h
Scores of Kosovan school students were taken to hospital on Thursday after a mysterious illness spread rapidly through two schools, health officials said.

Around 120 pupils, aged between 14 and 18, were admitted for treatment at Pristina's main hospital after falling ill in a nearby town.

Some students passed out as the illness -- described as ''poisoning'' by local media -- spread, while others complained of ''respiration difficulties, dizziness, weakness,'' the hospital said in a statement.

Most were treated and released but 16 remained in hospital late Thursday as a precaution, health officials said.

The hospital did not give any indication of what might have caused the illness.