It was the second day of school after the fall break in a primary school in South London in 1979.

Suddenly, 78 children and several teachers fell ill at the same time.

The symptoms were vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and, in severe cases, central nervous system depression. Some also ended up in a coma with bouts of muscle contractions and severe fever.

Within 5 days of this event, everyone had fully recovered, except for a few who had hallucinated for several more days.

But what can cause such a sudden and mysterious illness?

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