WELLINGTON, Ohio, Posted 4:48 p.m. March 18, 1999 -- A Lorain County village wants to know why so many of its residents have multiple sclerosis.

NewsChannel5 reports in Wellington, the number of MS cases has ballooned to five times the national average.

In 1983, resident Sally Giar was diagnosed with MS, a disease that attacks the central nervous system and can cause vision problems, paralysis and a host of other physical ailments.

"I had to retire in 1994 because my mobility was getting so limited that I could not perform my job anymore," Giar told WEWS.

Giar is one of at least 22 people in the village diagnosed with MS. Wellington's population is 4,200 -- the town should statistically see no more than four cases of MS.

"I don't want to hear of one more person that is diagnosed with the disease, and unfortunately I'm hearing younger and younger people and it's heart breaking," Giar said.

Lorain County Health Commissioner Kenneth Pearce is asking the State Department of Health to investigate, and has offered to help conduct a study.

"I don't think there's anything suspicious in term of Wellington or any particular location other than we know that north of the Mason Dixon line as you get further north you have more cases of multiple sclerosis," Pearce told WEWS.

Giar has mapped out each of the diagnosed MS cases within the village, and what she found was shocking. Most of the people who acquired MS literally lived right next door from each other or across the street.

Because the number of MS cases in Wellington far outweighs the national average, some researchers believe it could be evidence of an environmental factor. But experts say there is no way to be sure without knowing what causes MS. They say clusters of MS cases, like Wellington's, is rare.

State health officials say they will begin their study in May.

For More Information:

• Multiple Sclerosis
• What Is Multiple Sclerosis?