31 Schoolchildren Taken To Hospital Due To Rashes
Updated 03/09/11 - 4:32 p.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Paramedics took 31 children to area hospitals from a Humboldt Park school Wednesday, after several reported rashes.
Fifteen of the students from Cameron Elementary School, 1234 N. Monticello Ave., were taken in good condition to Mount Sinai Hospital, five were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and 10 were taken to St. Mary Medical Center.
Officials said the children suffered from some kind of rash, but the exact cause was unclear.
CBS 2's Roseanne Tellez talked to some parents as they were leaving Mt. Sinai Hospital on Wednesday. They said that, while hospital officials said their kids are okay, they still don't know what caused the rash.
Parents who live near the school said they knew something was wrong when all ambulances rolled up.
Shelly Hendersen said it was frightening "because you don't know what's going around there; if your child gets it, whether it's serious."
Fellow parent Yolanda Velez said that, although her boys were fine, other students had a bad rash.
"They have a severe rash and they have no idea where it's coming from. They're investigating this point."
Firefighters found no toxic gas in the building. Students complained of having skin irritation, although Fire Department spokesman Quention Curtis called their symptoms "psychosomatic."
One student complained of feeling itchy, and the word spread, Curtis said. The 31 students, believed to be in the fourth or fifth grades, were in "great shape" and were taken to area hospitals as a precaution.
"There's no trauma, no injury, no trouble at all," Curtis said.
As nervous parents began picking up their kids, hazmat teams and firefighters set out to find the cause of the mysterious rash that, at first, sent only two students to the nurse.
"After that, more students started to report it. It wasn't clear if they were actually experiencing the same irritation or if it was more of a hysteria type of thing," principal Stephen Harden said.
Chicago Public Schools spokeswoman Monique Bond said, "as a precaution the principal isolated the area, which is art room, which is on the first floor" and the 31 students were taken to hospitals as a precaution.
Harden and Bond said the students were only using crayons, paper and other typical art class supplies, nothing that would be toxic.
In fact, classes continued for the other nearly 900 students at Cameron.
At Mt. Sinai, hospital staff wasn't taking any chances, as workers wearing decontamination suits were seen transporting the students' backpacks.
Parents who were waiting to speak to their children said they were hoping to have more information about the scare before class time on Thursday.
Larry Martin said his son was doing fine.
"He doesn't itch, at least not yet," Martin said.
The art classroom was cleaned as a precaution after the health scare. Hospital officials decontaminated the clothes and backpacks of all students who were brought in for treatment.
As of 5 p.m., it was still unknown what caused the rash.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
