It all started last November during a fencing lesson. When asked to wear a mask to protect themselves, half of the CM2 students at Boëgue (Haute-Savoie) primary school began to develop rashes on their faces.
Since then, the symptoms have spread, from headaches to shortness of breath to rashes, and seem to only trigger when students are at school, he reports. The Dauphine Libere, and they disappear once they return home.
“We are still worried about the future, even if it does not seem very serious. But it’s still worrying because we don’t know what it is,” a parent of a student who gathered in front of the school told BFMTV.
Two children out of school
Two children who attended the November fencing lesson were more severely affected by the mysterious symptoms and received treatment, with little success. Later, a blood test showed an unidentified allergy, and the decision was made to remove them from school.
The mayoress of the town, Fabienne Scherrer, ordered the cleaning of all school furniture and the filters of the ventilation system were changed. But nothing helps, some kids go on to develop a probable allergic reaction when in class. Some teachers even experience mild symptoms.
“Until now there has never been any problem. We have not changed anything, we have not changed our supplier of heating and maintenance products… We have no explanation for this phenomenon. We don’t know at all what it could be,” says the elected official into the BFMTV microphone.
ARS Epidemiological Investigation
The Regional Health Agency (ARS) was seized and is currently conducting an epidemiological investigation, after initial inconclusive results. “The classic preliminary investigation of this report did not allow to objectify an evident cause for the declared symptoms,” the agency reported.
The air analyzes were carried out by a private company, and the results will be communicated soon by the authorized laboratories. The parents of the students will soon receive a questionnaire to try to elucidate this mysterious allergic reaction.
Source: BFM TV
