Rash spreads among students, teachers after rats invade Calif. elementary school
VILLA PARK, Calif. -- Students and teachers were covered in itchy, red bites after rats invaded an elementary school in Southern California.
CBS Los Angeles reports the rats were found underneath some portable classrooms at Villa Park Elementary School in Orange County.
Health officials say the bumps that were reported by students and faculty were caused by tiny bugs that live on rats.
"This issue was first discovered when some staff and students reported bug bites, which through the investigation, were identified to be rodent mites," the superintendent of Orange Unified School District said in a written statement. "While rodents live throughout Southern California in bushes and trees, it is likely that these were disturbed with work preparing to demolish the vacant 1920s buildings on the campus."
On Tuesday, vector control workers were sent to campus to eradicate the rodents.
The superintendent says two classes have been moved to nearby Serrano Elementary School as a precaution.
The case remains under investigation.
