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Mar 13, 2009 8:24 pm US/Eastern
Local School's Students, Faculty Develop Rashes
McKEES ROCKS (KDKA) ―
Since February 1st, 40 students and faculty at the Sto-Rox Middle School, including the principal and school nurse, have developed a mysterious rash.
Doctors who've treated the problem call it a contact dermatitis of unknown origin.
Three more children went to the school nurse Friday complaining about the itchy, scaly rash, and were sent home.
It is appearing on backs, bellies, shoulders, in armpits, the groin area and behind knees
"In some cases [it is] characteristic of scabies. We don't know if there's scabies. We haven't had any reports of any scabies involving anyone at that school," said Guillermo Cole of the Allegheny County Health Department.
The heavily industrialized Neville Island is almost directly below the Sto-Rox middle and elementary Schools.
The Allegheny County Health Department began monitoring air inside and outside the middle school.
"The compounds we found in the school when we did this testing a few weeks ago in February are not at levels that would cause any acute health effects," Cole said.
The air quality monitors did find higher concentrations of the organic compounds benzene and Tolulene inside the middle school than outside.
"And we have made recommendations to the school to improve its ventilation," Cole said.
School Board President Kevin Kochirka told KDKA's Mary Robb Jackson they have already increased the air flow in the building.
They have also stepped up cleaning in the school and they are continuing to work with the health department.
He is asking parents not to over react.
Cole recommends that anyone in the school who has the rash to contact their family physician.
"Rashes can be caused by a lot of things. There are bacteria, viruses and other things that can cause a rash and we are confident that the compounds that we found are not the source of these rashes," Cole said.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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