Tests Rule Out Some Insects, Mice As Cause Of Rash Outbreak At OC Elementary School

LAKE FOREST (CBSLA.com) —  Parents with children attending Lake Forest Elementary School are expected to meet with the principal Wednesday night to address an outbreak of mysterious rashes.

Tests done Wednesday ruled out mosquitoes, flees and mice, according to Jared Dever of the Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control.

"At this time, we have not been able to collect anything that would give us a clue as to what caused these bites," Dever said.

"The entire campus was sprayed (last weekend), both inside and outside classrooms," said Tammy Blakely, assistant to the superintendent of the Saddleback Valley Unified School District. "We've been notified by vector control that the areas were safe after the spraying."

"Out of an extreme abundance of caution, the entire campus will be sprayed again this weekend, both inside and outside classrooms, and all field areas to ensure that all concerns have been addressed." Blakely added.

So far, 30 students and 10 staff members have come down with the rashes, according to the district.

Shondi Partridge's 10-year-old son came home almost weeks ago with what looked like bug bites. "He had a line of may be five or six bites and two blisters on his left hand," she said.

The mom didn't think much of it until she heard from fellow moms that dozens of kids who attend the same school came down with similar symptoms.

Patridge said she should have been notified by the school about the problem. "I wish there had been better communication between what was being done, what they thought it might be."

The school district said it did not learn about the problem until mid September. But several parents said the bites happened as early as the beginning of summer.