Twitching Case Closed With No Real Explanation

The Associated Press

ROANOKE

Stress may have played a role in causing some of the strange, seizurelike symptoms in about 10 people at a Roanoke County high school, Virginia Department of Health officials said Monday.

Health officials said that the events at William Byrd High School are consistent with a social phenomenon that suggests a physical illness in a group of people but lacks an identified cause.

No neurological disorders were found in any of those experiencing symptoms, and environmental tests found nothing abnormal in the building.

Symptoms have ended in some of the individuals, Dr. Stephanie Harper, director of the department’s Roanoke and Alleghany districts, said in a news release.

“We believe the school is safe, and the community faces no increased risk as a result of this incident,” Harper said.

Health officials scheduled a phone bank today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for staff to answer the public’s questions.

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