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8 children hospitalized with ‘seizure-like symptoms’ during Cambridge concert
The children, between ages 11 and 13, were members of a French touring choir group performing at a Cambridge church.
Eight children performing a free choir concert at a church in Cambridge Tuesday night were taken to the hospital after experiencing “seizure-like symptoms,” first responders said.
Cambridge fire crews responded to St. Paul Parish on Mount Auburn Street around 7:30 p.m. for a medical emergency, officials said in a statement. Eight children, who were performing, were treated on scene for non-life threatening emergencies and transported to hospitals.
The children affected were between the ages of 11 and 13, a department spokesperson John Gelinas told Boston.com, who were experiencing “seizure-like symptoms.”
“We did have one student within a choir group that was sitting on the front steps that wasn’t actively seizing,” Acting Fire Chief Thomas Cahill told WCVB at the scene. “That quickly escalated into seven other people that had seizure-like symptoms.”
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Around 70 other people in attendance were not affected. The children were part of a French touring youth choir group touring the United States. The Chœur d’Enfants d’Île-de-France began their concert around 6 p.m. at St. Paul’s, according to a church announcement.
Some adults and children at the scene reported odors, according to the news station, but the crews said they didn’t smell anything concerning.
Cambridge fire’s HazMat team surveyed the St. Paul buildings, Gelinas said, and determined that there were no hazardous conditions present.
“Reuslts were negative and the buildings were ventilated,” Gelinas wrote in an email. “All occupants & concert attendees have left the scene with designated chaperones.”
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St. Paul’s did not immediately return a request for comment Tuesday evening.
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