Woman says Wi-Fi allergy killed her daughter

Is the signal from a router enough to make you seriously ill? Is the signal from a router enough to make you seriously ill? Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Woman says Wi-Fi allergy killed her daughter 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A mother in England is claiming a crippling allergy to Wi-Fi exacerbated by school routers compelled her 15-year-old daughter to end her life.

Jenny Fry committed suicide earlier this year, and her mother Debra says she left behind letters saying "she couldn't cope with her allergies from wifi anymore." Fry says her daughter suffered from electro-hypersensitivity (EHS), a condition that made Jenny tired and gave her headaches and bladder problems.

The World Health Organization issued a report on EHS in 2005 that said: "EHS is characterized by a variety of non-specific symptoms that differ from individual to individual. The symptoms are certainly real and can vary widely in their severity ... EHS has no clear diagnostic criteria and there is no scientific basis to link EHS symptoms to EMF exposure.

"Further, EHS is not a medical diagnosis, nor is it clear that it represents a single medical problem."

Debra Fry alleged at an inquest that her daughter's school was made aware of her condition and did nothing to help her. Her mother says that Jenny was seated near routers and would often have to disappear from the classroom to find "unused classrooms" where she could work. The school punished her with detention for leaving the classroom, her mother claims.

"As soon as Jenny walked away from a router she felt instantly better so she was almost hunting out areas of the school which weren't covered by Wi-Fi just to do her work," Fry told the Telegraph. "I remember saying to the school 'if someone had a peanut allergy you wouldn't make them work surrounded by peanuts'."

Oxfordshire coroner Darren Salter said there were no medical notes proving that Jenny was diagnosed with EHS, and Jenny's school says its Wi-Fi routers were up to code.

There is a legal precedent for winning damages from Wi-Fi allergies. In August, a French court awarded a woman $32,000 after she said she was forced to move out of the city to escape the constant wireless emissions.

England's public health department, however, argues there is no evidence Wi-Fi exposure causes "acute symptoms." Jenny Fry's family has started a campaign to raise awareness for EHS and seeks to change the use of routers in schools.

"Just because Wi-Fi is new and all around us doesn't mean it is safe," Debra Fry said. "Wi-Fi and children do not mix. Much more research needs to be done into this because I believe that Wi-Fi killed my daughter."