Four VTA bus operators in the Bay Area have scabies, VTA confirmed on Friday. 

As a result, officials say 12 buses have been taken out of service in VTA’s North Yard Division in Mountain View. 

Officials say one operator reported the scabies diagnosis on Saturday. Three other reports have been confirmed since that time.

“One operator reported the condition on Saturday and since then we have confirmed three other operators,” said Brandi Childress with VTA. “Based on the operator shifts we were able to determine that one in seven buses should be taken out of service and will receive extra cleaning for precautionary measures.”

The 12 buses taken out of service will receive extra cleaning as a precaution. 

“We sent out alerts to all our operators from the CDC website and although this is unlikely to be spread by merely sitting on a seat or sitting next to a person with the condition, VTA has hired an exterminator as an extra layer of precaution so our employees and our public have no reason to worry,” Childress said.

VTA has also hired Terminix to fumigate the buses as an added measure of precaution, although scabies cannot be transmitted just by sitting on a bus or being near a person confirmed with scabies. 

Symptoms of scabies are intense itching especially at night, and a pimple-like skin rash. 

The scabies mite is spread by direct, prolonged, skin-to-skin contact with a person who has scabies. 

Consult your healthcare provider if you believe you have any of the aforementioned symptoms. 

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