LeRoy businesses feeling the effects of mysterious illness

Posted at: 02/03/2012 2:53 PM | Updated at: 02/03/2012 5:58 PM
By: Lynette Adams | WHEC.com

There are four new cases of conversion disorder in LeRoy, that coming from the doctor treating some of the students from LeRoy High School who have a mysterious illness that mimics Tourettes.

Dr. Laszlo Mechtler made that statement while appearing on a program this afternoon on News10NBc’s affiliate in Buffalo.

News10NBC is still waiting to hear more about these cases. They would join 15 other students and one adult who have come down with vocal and physical tics.

These cases have propelled LeRoy into the national spotlight and some local merchants say it’s starting to have an impact on business and not in a positive way.

For people who live and work in LeRoy, the news and the attention on their small town is non-stop and local merchants are becoming concerns. People like Mary Margaret Ripley, who owns “Made from Scratch”. It’s a small bakery downtown. She was willing to talk with us, but she didn’t want to appear on camera. “The girls from Albany that said that they ate a restaurant, and that started a few things and we were worried about it.”

Other restaurants owners have noticed a small, but noticeable decline in business. “It has nothing to do with anything. We’ve all eaten here all our lives. We all frequent all of the restaurants here and there’s nothing wrong with any of them.”

The mysterious LeRoy illness affecting several teens and one adult is having an impact in other ways. News10NBC spoke with one real estate agent who says while homeowners are not rushing to sell their homes, she is getting calls from prospective buyers wondering if there’s any new information.

There are questions about the train derailment in LeRoy more than 40 years ago and the impact on the water and the soil and its relationship to the sick teens.

Melissa Cianci runs a daycare center a quarter of a mile from the crash site. It’s something she didn’t think about until now and she fears her business could be in jeopardy. “It’s my income. It’s how I raise my family. If I don’t have that, I have health issues of my own. It’s very hard for me to work out in the public.”

This issue has come up for Cianci because she’s reapplying for her state certification and for the first time in six years, she had to say on the application she lives near potentially hazardous material.

The State Health Department released new findings on its investigation. They say eight of the original 12 cases have been diagnosed as conversion disorder. Three of the students showed tics symptoms before this came to light and one of those three had been diagnosed with Tourettes syndrome. The twelfth student did not seek medical attention.

To read the full interim report from the New York State Health Department, click here.

For more Rochester, N.Y. news go to our website www.whec.com.

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