WELLESLEY, Mass. — Nearly a dozen children were taken to the hospital after a rash outbreak at a daycare in Wellesley on Friday morning, officials said.
Emergency crews responded to a report of a child with a rash at Bright Horizons on William Street just after 11 a.m.
While the child in question was being evaluated, several other kids came down with a similar issue, Wellesley Fire Chief Steve Mortarelli announced during an afternoon news conference.
Investigators believe a possible irritant in the soap dispensers may have caused the outbreak of rashes.
Of the estimated 40 children who were present at the daycare, 12 were affected, with 11 of them hospitalized with “minor, superficial” rashes. Mortarelli noted they were all between 1 and 5 years of age.
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Mortarelli likened the rashes to a “bad sunburn,” noting the children were suffering from “mostly just redness.”
“While we haven’t pinpointed what the irritant is, we think it might have something to do with the soap dispensers,” Mortarelli told reporters. “There’s obviously nothing airborne or anything like that.”
The rest of the children were being picked up by their parents.
Video from the scene showed multiple tire trucks, ambulances, and police cruisers surrounding the daycare during the emergency response.
A hazmat team was working to test what chemicals are in the daycare’s hand dispensers.
An investigation is ongoing.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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