Reed Students

Hit By

Mystery Rash

By Tanjua Damon

The “mystery” rash that has affected about four or five schools in Connecticut and others across the nation may have reached Newtown this week, particularly at Reed Intermediate School.

On Wednesday afternoon about 60 students complained of itching and some displayed a blotchy rash. Superintendent of Schools Evan Pitkoff said most of the students affected were in the fifth grade and were girls. A handful of boys complained of symptoms, he said.

Dr Pitkoff explained that for the last two years throughout the nation a rash similar to that affecting the Reed School students has been appearing at schools with students in this age group. He said that four or five schools in Connecticut have had an outbreak. The symptoms of the rash appear quickly, causing itching on the back of the neck, shoulders, and arms, and they last about 72 hours before disappearing, he said.

The district brought several nurses to the school Thursday morning to evaluate the 62 students that complained of itching on Wednesday. The nurses are trying to determine which students actually have signs of a rash and which students may have a “sympathy” rash where they itch because other people they have been near have it or have talked about it, Dr Pitkoff said.

Thomas Draper of the Newtown Health District who is a liaison with the school system has been notified and was planning to examine the data on the outbreak later Thursday.

Some of the students had already seen their primary care physicians, Dr Pitkoff said, while other parents opted to keep their children home Thursday as a precautionary measure. School will continue to be open at this point.

The district is also investigating the rooms where a majority of the students who complained of the rash attend class, according to Dr Pitkoff. But school officials were unsure at press time what was causing the rash.

“This has not been uncommon nationally,” Dr Pitkoff said. “If this is in fact what other schools in Connecticut and nationally have been dealing with, it should pass quickly.”