Mystery Outbreak In Houston

Authorities in Houston are still searching for answers after an area high school football game was called off early after nearly two dozen fans were hospitalized after suddenly becoming sick in the stands of Barnett Stadium on Friday night.

During the second half of the game between Austin (Texas) High and Houston (Texas) Yates, many members of the band and dance team from Austin started suffering from nausea, vomiting and dizziness and began collapsing in the stands, according to numerous media reports.

Officials feared they had been exposed to some type of biohazard and called hazmet teams to the scene but no traces of gases or chemical agents were found.

Nevertheless, the stadium was cleared and the game was called with Yates leading, 47-14.

The students, many complaining of nausea, were sent for more medical evaluation.

“We ended up with 22 students being transported to five different hospitals,” Houston Fire Department assistant chief David Almaguer told the local FOX affiliate, KTRK-TV.

Food poisoning of some sort remains a possibility for the incident, but initially appears unlikely as those who were sick ate different meals at different times in different places before the game.

“The kids all ate at different places, some of them ate at different times … but they did have something in their stomachs,” Emergency Medical Services doctor David Purse told the station. “At this point, it remains a little unclear what set it off.”

Officials, however, aren’t taking any chances. A football game scheduled to be played there on Saturday afternoon has been moved to another location.