Mysterious Mite Discovered at Lake Forest Elementary School

LAKE FOREST, CA — A mysterious mite in Lake Forest was the source of the rash-bites that was discovered on over 30 students and 10 staff members two weeks ago according to Saddleback Unified School District. After an intensive search, blood feeding mites were discovered on the school playgrounds by OC Vector Control and leading mite specialist, Steven Bennett.

Mites of the Mesostigmata order feed on blood, rather than chiggers which feed on the surface of the skin, were pulled off of a sample of woodchips on the school playground.

More of the same mites were found in the school's after-school area. This was the original primary location of the students with bite marks.

The after-school program was the one thing that all of the original victims of the bites had in common, according to OC Vector Control's Spokesperson, Jared Dever.

"There aren't many mite experts out there, and he is the leading expert in that field," Dever said. "It was the smoking gun we were looking for. Everything about this mite fits the bill for what has caused these types of injuries."

Bennett worked with OC Vector Control, giving them a list of data to collect, and will be on campus gathering more types of mite surveillance through Oct. 3. According to the OC Register report, Bennett placed wood chips in berlese funnels, then used a light and capture jar and found the culprit."

"We haven't used berlese funnels here in probably 15 years," Dever said. "It's incredibly hard to find mites on wood chips because of their shape" so the wood chips were placed inside the traps.

The initial course of action, according to Dever, will be to remove the wood chips from the play areas in a careful manner. It will be up to the school district as to whether to conduct further mite testing around the campus.

The homes of those affected may need to be examined, as well, but this remains in question, as does the answer to where the mystery mite stemmed from.

"The type of mite we're dealing with causes a different type of irritation," Dever said. Physicians should be consulted to provide the best course of relief, according to OC Vector control. Now that they have a name, doctors should be able to figure out action plans for those still afflicted with the Mesostigmata mite.

Saddleback Unified School District has yet to comment on course of action, as they were contacted after business hours.

This story will be updated as more information is released. Please refresh this page for the latest information.

Pixabay Image