February 17, 2002 Mysterious Rash Reported at Schools in 7 States By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HILADELPHIA, Feb. 16 (AP) - Hundreds of youngsters in at least seven states have broken out in a mysterious rash, and some health investigators suspect it is caused by a new or unidentified virus. The rash appears to be more an annoyance than a health threat. Students in New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington State had it on the face, arms, legs and torso. Dr. Norman Sykes, who examined about 30 Philadelphia-area students who had the rash, called the widespread outbreaks unprecedented. At schools near Philadelphia, nearly 170 students had the rash. Air and water samples, carpets and clothing tested negative for contaminants. At Gig Harbor, Wash., where more than 50 students and teachers complained of a rash, tests found high levels of dust, dandruff and skin particles in the air. Dr. Sykes, a dermatologist and professor at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, said he suspected a mutation of a childhood illness, fifth disease, or an unknown virus was the cause. Blood tests turned up no evidence of the fifth disease virus. METROPOLITAN DESK | February 7, 2002, Thursday Rash at School Is a Mystery, But Anthrax Is Ruled Out By SARAH KERSHAW (NYT) 598 words Late Edition - Final, Section B, Page 6, Column 6 LEAD PARAGRAPH - They are calling it ''the Itch'' because, at this point, there is no other name for the mysterious rash that broke out Tuesday among a group of Queens fifth graders, causing splotchy redness on small arms and faces and panic among parents, some of whom had unfounded fears that anthrax spores were lurking in a textbook. School officials said yesterday that after a spate of tests on the air inside Public School 161 in Richmond Hill, a thorough cleaning of surfaces, air and heating filters and medical tests on the 52 children and 5 teachers who were itchy and red, there was still no explanation. [demime 0.98e removed an attachment of type image/gif which had a name of spacer.gif] [demime 0.98e removed an attachment of type image/gif which had a name of p.gif] [demime 0.98e removed an attachment of type image/gif which had a name of spacer.gif]