Hays ? An unidentified illness has sent three Fort Hays State football players to the hospital and sickened 19 of their teammates and two coaches.

The players began to suffer from flu-like symptoms last weekend. The sick players are receiving medical treatment, and the entire football team is under close medical supervision.

All three hospitalized players were listed in fair condition Wednesday, said Dr. Randy Cook of Hays Medical Center.

He said the hospitalized athletes were being treated for a non-typical form of pneumonia. The cause of the pneumonia was not yet known.

The players went to the hospital suffering from coughing, muscle pain, chills, high fevers and a loss of appetite. Cook said the patients displayed no shortness of breath.

“It was probably an inhalant that caused the problem,” Cook said. “It was probably commonly inhaled wherever they were whether it be in the locker room, swimming pool, shower or wherever they were.”