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First reported in 2021, the illness's symptoms include memory problems, balance issues, behavioural changes, muscle spasms and bursts of intense pain.

In 2022, the health department said experts found no evidence that a cluster of cases existed following an investigation of 48 patients – 46 of them referred by a single neurologist: Dr. Alier Marrero.

The list of patients reporting symptoms later increased to 400, and Premier Susan Holt’s Liberals campaigned during the 2024 provincial election on a promise to reopen the investigation. 

A study last year in the journal JAMA Neurology also found no evidence to support claims of a mystery illness, and suggested the media may have played a role in feeding the fears of patients.

This report by ºÃÉ«tvwas first published Jan. 23, 2026.