The cause of a gastrointestinal illness that sickened 22 students at Howard C. Reiche Community School in Portland will be listed as unknown, the Maine Center for Disease Control said Friday.

The students became sick after eating beet salad at lunch on March 10, although the illness was short-lived and all the students were back in school the next day.

The Maine CDC investigated the illness and sent samples to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. The Maine CDC said Friday that a lab report is still being prepared, but the U.S. CDC said there was no bacteria in the food that could be linked to the illnesses.

The Maine CDC said that once it receives the lab report, it will officially close the case, with the cause of the illness listed as unknown.


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