Two elementary schools in Oakland, California, have been forced to close due to a massive flea outbreak, believed to have been caused by nearby raccoons.
Notoriously difficult to get rid of, fleas are insects that survive on human or animal blood. In addition to causing annoying and uncomfortable bites, they can also transmit diseases like plague and typhus.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it can “take months to control” a moderate to severe flea infestation, due to the insects’ extended life cycle.
According to KPIX, the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) announced on Wednesday that Esperanza Elementary School and Korematsu Discovery Academy in East Oakland—two schools that share the same campus—would be closed Thursday and Friday due to fleas.
The school district had reportedly been aware of the problem for two weeks prior to the announcement, but their initial measures proved ineffective against the outbreak.
“As soon as they get back on the concrete and [are] getting in line, they are covered in fleas,” Esperanza fifth grade teacher Kathryn Wilson said to KPIX, describing her students amid the outbreak. “They’re hopping. They’re all over them, from their shoulders to their ankles.”
Exterminators tried to get the situation under control while school remained in session, but the fleas persisted nonetheless. “They were just covered in fleas from their shoulders down to their ankles, more fleas than I have ever seen,” reiterated Wilson, this time speaking to KGO. “I’ve never seen anything like that. It was like apocalyptic proportions.”
She added that students were even “taking [fleas] off each other.”
The conditions got so bad that teachers threatened to stop showing up unless the district took more intensive action against the outbreak.
“Unfortunately the treatments haven’t had the desired effect, at least as quickly as we’d like, so we decided we had to step up our game,” acknowledged OUSD spokesperson John Sasaki to KGO.
Per the news outlet, a statement released by the district explained that a wooded area and a park located near the schools may have contributed to the outbreak, as the schools “have seen issues with raccoons” before.
“They kind of hitchhike,” Sasaki said to KPIX. “When you walk through an area that has fleas, it might jump on your shoes, jump on your pants. And as you walk, they’ll take a ride with you to wherever you are going.”
While classrooms are set to reopen on Monday, “exterminators say not to expect the flea issue to be entirely resolved.” Rather, it can take at least a month and a half for the infestation to be entirely eliminated, explained the district.
However, OUSD noted that the short-term closure “will allow crews to do a deeper cleaning of all classrooms and common areas, including removing all carpets where fleas have taken up residence and laid their eggs,” thus improving the situation dramatically.
Newsweek has reached out to OUSD for additional comment but did not hear back before publication.
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