
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 29, 1990                   TAG: 9003290640
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A8   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: CHARLESTON, W.VA.                                LENGTH: Short

RASH EPIDEMIC CLOSES SCHOOLS IN TWO STATES

A mysterious skin disorder that has children in two states "scratching the skin off their arms" has prompted school closings and protests from frustrated parents, officials said.

The rash, which varies from a minor skin irritation to inflamed bumps, has appeared on the necks, arms and backs of students in Jackson and Doddridge counties in West Virginia and in McDowell, Ky., officials said Wednesday.

"We're looking for a pattern and we can't establish one," said Loretta Haddy, an epidemiologist with the West Virginia Department of Health. "Unless it really starts getting out of control, we're just assuming it's a viral rash."

Teacher Brenda Hamilton of McDowell, where dozens of students suffered rashes, said the children's skin looked "like they'd been scalded with water."

"Children were literally scratching the skin off their arms," said James Bennett, school superintendent in Doddridge County in north-central West Virginia.

-Associated Press

by CNB