Breaking out nationally - with mysterious rashes

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Breaking out nationally

February 28, 2002

Doctors from St. Luke's Hospital and Health Network have been exposed to a

rash of national media since the beginning of this year, when they responded

to a mystery skin problem affecting elementary schoolchildren in the

Quakertown area and other parts of the country.

Dr. Norman Sykes, a dermatologist who practices at St. Luke's Professional

Center in Quakertown, appeared on Good Morning America, the Early Show and

National Public Radio's ''All Things Considered.'' He also was quoted by the

Associated Press in a story that ran on the AP Newswire and in papers around

the country.

Dr. Jahre, an infectious disease specialist and chief of medicine at

St. Luke's, Fountain Hill, was interviewed by CBS News Radio, Dermatology

Today and American Medical News, a publication of the American Medical

Association.

Having appeared before the national media before, Jahre said he appreciates

the spotlight if it helps him disseminate information the public needs.

''If you are honest and tell people what you don't know as well as what you

know, it works out fine,'' he said. ''The danger is sound bites and snippets

that don't always reflect your message.''

With parents' panic over their children's rashes, Jahre said the mass media

worked well to dispel myths of bioterrorism and calm fears that the skin

condition was anything more than a nuisance.

Ann Wlazelek

Copyright © 2002, The Morning Call