North Star School District enlists PA Department of Health for illness investigation

Beth Ann Miller, The Daily American
·2 min read

BOSWELL ―  The Pennsylvania Department of Health is now working with the North Star School District and local and county agencies to try to determine why 41 students became ill on April 4, shortly after entering the high school for classes that day.

A mobile lab and environmental response team from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency came from Philadelphia to conduct air sample testing at the North Star High School on April 4 and 5.
A mobile lab and environmental response team from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency came from Philadelphia to conduct air sample testing at the North Star High School on April 4 and 5.

How it happened: What happened at North Star High School? Here's what we know.

A memo sent on Tuesday from Kristen Rodack, executive deputy secretary for the DOH, and the North Star School District says the Department of Health’s “epidemiology and toxicology staff are working with county emergency management officials and local health care providers to take appropriate public health measures to identify the cause of the incident (at North Star).”

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, epidemiology is “a branch of medical science that deals with the incidence, distribution and control of disease in a population,” and toxicology is “a science that deals with poisons and their effect.”

In the memo, Rodack said an evaluation of the students’ carboxydemoglobin, or COHb, levels, which were tested to check for carbon monoxide poisoning, determined that  “carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) levels ... were low and within the normal range of COHb observed in the general population.”

She added that “(p)eople can have different ‘normal’ levels of COHb in their blood, depending upon where they live, smoking exposure and other genetic or biological factors.

“This information, combined with the lack of evidence of carbon monoxide being detected in the school buildings, makes carbon monoxide poisoning an unlikely explanation for this event.”

A solar celebration: Who was watching the solar eclipse Monday at Windber Recreation Park?

Rodack said the DOH would “continue to work with health care providers and the school to seek other potential causes.”

On April 4, a total of 26 North Star High School students initially reported symptoms of lightheadedness, dizziness and lethargy shortly after entering the high school, including 20 students who were bused to classes at the Somerset Career and Technology Center, district Superintendent Louis Lepley said. All of those students were sent to UPMC Somerset for medical evaluation and released.

Another 15 students were taken to the hospital later that day, as UPMC Somerset officials reported on April 5 that a total of 41 North Star students were evaluated for similar medical symptoms and released.

New technology: Can a drone be used to save lives? A group of area organizations are working on a project to do just that.

During a press conference held on April 5, Lepley said no North Star High School faculty, staff or any emergency personnel who were present at the school that day have reported any symptoms of illness.

On Saturday, a social media post from the school district announced that air and water samples tested at the high school last week by a mobile lab from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found no dangerous chemicals, gases or abnormalities in the air or any water vapors.

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: PA Department of Health aiding in North Star district illness investigation