Re: Rash outbreaks at schools a mystery (see map of states with rash)

[Guest guest]

There is a rash that is known in Australian schools as 'slap cheek'

it is highly contagious. The common name of the rash has come about

because the victim looks like someone has slapped their cheeks and

have become very redenned. This rash also spreads to other parts of

the body. I will attempt to get the 'medical' name and post it asap.

cheers

> (If this rash was a virus, it would cover all the body, wouldn't

it - not

> just skin that is exposed. Could this rash be related to toxic mold

> exposure? Having researched recent stories about school mold

outbreaks,

> there is a great deal of overlap - but why now and not earlier mold

> infestations? Could it be related to recent heavy aerial spaying of

> chemtrails (weather modification attempts using aluminum and other

> materials? Why does the rash diminish when they leave the school

grounds?

> This is stranger than strange. Any ideas?)

>

> http://www.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/02/28/mystery.rash/index.html

>

> Rash outbreaks at schools a mystery

> February 28, 2002 Posted: 2:59 PM EST (1959 GMT)

>

> ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Federal authorities are working with

state and

> local health officials to determine the cause of mysterious rashes

among

> schoolchildren in 14 widespread states. (see map at

>

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/health/0202/map.us.rash/map.us.rash.gif

)

>

> It is not clear whether a single cause is behind the rashes, which

tend to

> be mild and go away by themselves.

>

> The first outbreak happened in October in Indiana. Subsequent cases

have

> occurred as recently as February 21, the Centers for Disease

Control and

> Prevention said Thursday in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly

Report.

>

> The rashes have been reported primarily among elementary school

students,

> though a few middle and high schoolers have been affected as well,

the

> report said.

>

> The rashes are itchy and tend to appear suddenly on the face, neck,

hands or

> arms. They are not associated with any other symptoms and usually

go away by

> themselves -- sometimes within a few hours and sometimes not for

two weeks.

>

> Though they do not appear to be contagious, " in-school 'sympathy'

cases have

> reportedly occurred, " the CDC said.

>

> At one Indiana school of 390 students in October, 18 third-graders

and a

> substitute teacher developed rashes that spread from the face to

the upper

> arms. Most of the rashes occurred on exposed skin. No cause of the

rash was

> identified.

>

> In southwestern Oregon, rashes were reported in early February

among 53

> children and 11 adults in one elementary school of 589 students.

The rashes

> appeared on cheeks and arms, were itchy and looked like sunburns.

No source

> of the rash was found.

>

> Since February 21, seven adults and 84 children in a northern

Oregon middle

> school of 314 students have broken out in a variety of rashes,

including

> eczema and a red, itchy rash on the face, arms, neck and back, the

report

> said. No environmental cause has been found.

>

> In both Oregon schools, the rash improved among several children

when they

> left school but returned when they went back to class. No

environmental

> cause has been found.

>

> In Connecticut, 25 fourth-graders in a school of 253 students and 12

> classrooms broke out February 20 and 21. The rash appeared on the

pupils'

> trunks and arms and legs and disappeared in one to three days.

>

> The school was closed for a day while authorities cleaned the

classrooms and

> replaced air filters, but no environmental source of the rashes has

been

> found. Rashes were not reported among parents or siblings of the

affected

> students.

>

> In Pennsylvania, 575 cases of rashes have been reported to the

state health

> department in 58 schools and child-care centers in January and

February.

>

> Most of the cases were among elementary and middle school students,

with

> cases involving girls outnumbering those among boys.

>

> In some cases, the rash went away and came back.

>

> Investigators have unsuccessfully looked for a cause in dust mites,

> cockroach allergens, solvents and cleaners, fungi and bacteria.

>

> The mildness of the rashes has hindered attempts to study it, said

Dr.

> P. Maher, director of the Chester County, Pennsylvania, Health

Department.

>

> As a result, " it is difficult to get parents to want to have their

young

> children subjected to invasive clinical studies, " Maher said in an

e-mail

> posting to other health officials.

>

> The CDC is asking dermatologists and local school and health

officials to

> share their clinical observations.

>

> Rashes also have been reported in Arizona, Florida, Georgia,

Mississippi,

> New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia.