WASHINGTON – After several students at Ballou High School in Southeast D.C. got sick from something they ate Monday morning, the D.C. Department of Health is still searching for the cause.

A fire department spokesperson says the teens complained of stomach pains after eating apples brought in by a teacher. Three of them were taken to the Children’s Hospital.

The Department of Health’s Food Safety Team inspected the school’s kitchen and have not found that the apples are the source of the illness, the DOH’s Interim Director Dr. Saul Levin says in a news release. DOH epidemiologists are working with area hospitals and the public health laboratory and continue to investigate the source of the illness, he says.

Monday afternoon, a spokeswoman with the D.C. Public Schools confirmed the students’ sickness after eating apples and that their symptoms had been reported to the HSEMA.

The situation has been contained. Fire and safety departments are on site. We are investigating the situation and will release more information when it is confirmed by the appropriate authorities.

Health officials are testing the air quality on campus for potential hazards, ABC 7 says.

WTOP will bring you more information as it becomes available.

Follow WTOP on Twitter.

(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)