Apparently, the cafeteria dishwasher had been leaking fumes, and it was soon fixed. However, many current and former Camp Hill employees maintain that they are sick to this day. Around the same time, the Nova Scotia provincial government sponsored an Environmental Health Centre specializing in MCS and sick-building syndrome. In Dr. House's view, the clinic itself caused the epidemic. According to Dr. House, psychosocial illnesses have been known to spread like wildfire through workplaces and communities.
Outbreaks tend to model themselves on a template of existent illnesses.
A Haligonian wearing perfume protection. Charles Moore, who lives outside Halifax in Sherbrooke, says that he has had MCS for the past 40 years. He attributes Haligonians' higher acceptance of the illness to their good conscience and level of education about the condition. Dr. Roy Fox of Halifax's Environmental Health Centre, agreed. Most people don't want to make other people ill by wearing fragrances.