What we know about the mysterious poisonings which affected several dozen children and adults in the Marne

In the town of Fère-Champenoise, nine nursery school students and three adults suffered illness on Thursday. Three weeks earlier, dozens of residents had already suffered similar symptoms. The origin of these poisonings has still not been identified.

The mystery remains. Since the end of May, dozens of residents of Fère-Champenoise, a small town in the Marne, have been victims of illness, for no identified reason. Twelve new cases were recorded on Thursday June 20, including nine children aged 5 to 6 years old. This is the first time that kindergarten students have been affected by these mysterious poisonings. Seven of them must have been “transported to the Châlons-en-Champagne hospital center”, specified the Marne prefecture in a press release, before adding a few hours later that they had all been able to return home. Here is what we know about this strange affair.

The first cases date back to the end of May

It all started on Thursday, May 30, during a trip to the canteen of the school group at the primary school in Fère-Champenoise (Marne). No less than 21 children and one adult were then victims of illnesses, the causes of which could not be identified. For two children, the symptoms are severe to the point of having to go to the hospital. A pattern that repeats itself the next day, at the beginning of the afternoon, among 25 members of the school, still on their way to the canteen.

This time, the 170 students of the establishment are subject to tests. Around fifty of them tested positive for carbon monoxide. The 22 children whose blood concentration of this gas exceeds 4% are evacuated to hospitals in Romilly-sur-Seine, Epernay and Châlons-en-Champagne, reports France 3 Grand Est.

Three days later, 19 students and one adult were again sick with vomiting and itching, announced the Marne prefecture. Although their state of health is not worrying, the authorities are demanding the temporary closure of the establishment from Monday and the establishment of a listening cell.

The symptoms are always the same

In the weeks that followed, cases of poisoning became rarer. A few days after the first symptoms observed, five relapses were recorded. On Thursday, June 20, the pattern of May 30 is repeated, with a few details. This time, the ailments do not appear on the way to the canteen, but “at the associations house after returning from a one-hour outing to the nearby playground”, reports the Marne prefecture in a press release. VSUnlike the last illnesses recorded, these nine new cases were not affected on May 30 and 31, the dates of the first illnesses.

These ntwo children aged 5 to 6 and these three adults “presented identical symptoms” to the previous cases, informs the prefecture, which then establishes an exhaustive list. She quotes “discomfort with the main symptoms being headaches, abdominal pain and, for some, throat irritation and itching”.

Several avenues have been ruled out

If carbon monoxide poisoning was suspected for these new illnesses, the analyzes of the poison control center finally buried this hypothesis. The Marne prefecture also announced that the tracks of food poisoning, contamination of the water fountain, the presence of chemicals, allergy to pollen or other natural substances or even consequences of activities industrial or agricultural had been excluded.

“The first results made it possible to assess and remove the risks associated with the presence of nearly 80 substances” in the outside air and to ensure that the air inside primary and nursery schools was “compliant with current standards”further assured the prefecture in its press release.

Analyzes continue

If the investigations carried out so far have not made it possible to detect the cause of these discomforts, certain avenues are still to be explored. For example, acetylene, a flammable gas, was detected in the elementary school playground, but the link has not been established. The mayor also noted that poisonings always occur after the rain has passed, but this is a simple observation at this stage. “There they were little ones, a little younger than those who were affected previously, which clearly shows that there is no precise location since they were not in the same place as those affected previously”detailed Henri Prévost, the prefect of Marne, to France 3 Grand Est.

“We are pursuing all avenues so that we can methodically close the different hypotheses.”

Henri Prévost, prefect of Marne

at France 3 Grand Est

The prefect also reported “research carried out on all gases”ensuring that none have been found yet. “For the moment, we have no explanation, we are continuing the research. We will discuss with the parents of the nursery school and the elementary school to present all the research in progress and take stock with the results that we expect over the weekend”, exposed Henri Prévost. The ATM service, commissioned by the Regional Health Agency, installed devices on Friday, the results of which will not be available until Monday.