11 Students Become Ill at Valentine’s Day Party

Eleven third-graders celebrating Valentine’s Day at an El Rio elementary school became sick and were taken to hospitals Friday, possibly suffering from food poisoning.

About 90 minutes after the 1 p.m. party at Rio Real Elementary School, 14 of the 29 children in Theresa Stewart’s class began complaining of stomach pains, the teacher said. Eleven vomited.

“At first, I thought maybe some of the kids had overeaten because there were 29 kids and 29 kids brought something [to eat],” she said. “Then, one-by-one they came in from recess complaining.”

The children were taken to St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard, St. John’s Pleasant Valley Hospital in Camarillo and a nearby clinic of the Ventura County Medical Center. All were released within two hours.

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Doctors at Pleasant Valley Hospital, who treated four students, speculated that one student’s genuine illness may have caused a psychosomatic reaction in the others, said hospital spokeswoman Amy Sullivan.

The sight of eight paramedics from Gold Coast Ambulance dashing into their classroom was enough to upset the students who weren’t complaining of stomach pains, Stewart said.

“I was really worried about them,” she said. “Some of them began to cry. They were scared for the other children. I just told them it may have been something we ate and that it was better for the children to throw up and get it out of their system. I was just basically trying to comfort the children.”

It’s unclear whether the combination of cookies, candy, jello, soft drinks and icing-free cupcakes sickened the children or whether bacteria in one of the foods were the problem. Stewart said she felt fine after eating a cookie and some candy.

But, authorities with the Ventura County Environmental Health Department will test the foods to determine the cause, said Ventura County Fire Capt. Lee Husband.

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Husband, who responded to the call Friday afternoon, said it’s unlikely anyone will be cited, even if it is determined that bacteria caused the illness.

“It appears to be an accident,” he said.

However, Friday’s incident may prompt a change in school policy. Currently, students are allowed to bring food from home for class parties, said Principal Barbara Ybarra.

“We will be looking at that and discussing it as a staff,” she said.

Husband said it’s not uncommon for children to be overly empathetic with a sick classmate.

“It can happen, especially with young children,” he said.

Despite the vomiting, Husband said vital signs of the sick children were normal, an indication that the students were in good overall health.

“It didn’t seem to be real serious,” he said. “It was minor food poisoning.”