Itching, rashes… Two students at the establishment had to be taken out of school due to the severity of the symptoms. An investigation has been opened by the ARS, but the first results do not offer any explanations.
It all started last November during a fencing lesson. Asked to wear a mask to protect themselves, half of the CM2 students at the Boëgue primary school (Haute-Savoie) began to develop rashes on their faces.
Since then, the symptoms have spread, ranging from headaches, difficulty breathing and rashes, and seem to be triggered only when students are on school grounds, reports The Dauphine Libere, and disappear once they return home.
“We are still worried regarding the future, even if it does not look very serious. But it remains worrying because we do not know what it is”, declares to BFMTV a parent of a student met in front of the establishment.
Two out-of-school children
Two children who attended the November fencing lesson were more seriously affected by the mysterious symptoms, and were given treatment, with little success. A blood test later showed an unidentified allergy, and the decision was made to drop them from the school.
The mayor of the town, Fabienne Scherrer, ordered the cleaning of all the school furniture, and the filters of the ventilation system were changed. But nothing helps, some children continue to develop a likely allergic reaction when they are in class. Some teachers even experience mild symptoms.
“There have never been any problems so far. We have not changed anything, we have not changed supplier for heating and maintenance products… We have no explanation for this phenomenon. We does not know at all what it can be”, indicates the elected official at the microphone of BFMTV.
ARS epidemiological investigation
The Regional Health Agency (ARS) was seized, and is currently conducting an epidemiological investigation, following initial inconclusive results. “The classic preliminary investigation of this report did not make it possible to objectify an obvious cause for the declared symptoms”, communicated the agency.
Air analyzes were carried out by a private company, and the results will soon be communicated by the mandated laboratories. Parents of students will soon receive a questionnaire to try to elucidate this mysterious allergic reaction.