Suspected case of scabies outbreak at Malden schools

MALDEN, Mo.­-- A few weeks ago, Malden School District nurses began seeing students complaining of itching and a rash. Suspecting more than just a common rash, the staff contacted the Dunklin County Department of Health for assistance in identifying the rash and its cause. Since that time, additional cases of the rash have been identified and several students have been seen by area doctors who have diagnosed some of the cases as heat rash, some as flea bits and some as scabies. Because of the concern that the district may have some cases of scabies in the school, the Department of Health came to the school last Friday and conducted some tests on students to positively identify if students do have scabies.

Scabies is a parasitic disease caused by an insect called a mite. The mite burrows into the skin and lays eggs.

These eggs, and the burrowing, cause an allergic reaction which results in itching and welts. It can take up to eight weeks for the rash to present itself after infection. Transmission of the mite is through contact between persons and this is the reason that many times the rash first begins on the hands and arms.

Information available indicates that it would be rare to receive the mite from a surface because the mites soon dies if they are not on a host. Prescription permethrin (Elimite) cream or lotion is the most commonly used medication to treat scabies. Unlike the more toxic lindane, permethrin is considered safe for infants as young as two months old. Treatment usually consists of applying the lotion to the skin and allowing it to work for approximately eight hours, washing and drying bedding and vacuuming carpets. Students are no longer contagious and may return to school immediately following treatment.

At this time, the district continues to work closely and cooperatively with the Department of Health and is following all recommendations made by the Department of Health. Before making further recommendations, the Department of Health wants to positively identify the existence of scabies, which can only be done through scraping of the infected area and the sample being sent to the state lab for analysis. The results from this test should be available on Monday and the district will do additional letters to parents and press releases to keep everyone informed. The district expressed its appreciation to those parents who granted consent for their children to be tested.

At this time, the Department of Health is not recommending closing school. The first time a student is infected with the scabies mite, itching may not begin for several weeks. During this time, the student is contagious but may not know that he/she is carrying mites. Therefore, if school was closed for a short time, infected students who have not shown symptoms will return to school and continue to infect others. District attendance has remained high with only between 10 and 20 students out on any one day due to the rash symptoms.

The district is greatly concerned about the welfare of its students and will continue to work diligently with the Department of Health to bring this situation to a conclusion.

On Monday, Oct. 6, the district was notified that all of the samples tested negative for scabies. In discussions with the officials from the Department of Health, it was decided that further investigation into the cause of the rash and apparent bites would be conducted soon. Even though no evidence of scabies was found in the students tested, a new case of scabies was visually diagnosed by a doctor late Friday.

In the meantime, the district will continue to assess students who complain of itching and have obvious rash or bites that could be associated with scabies, and will continue to contact parents. On Monday, the elementary attendance rate stood at 91.47 percent and the high school attendance rate was at 94.7 percent.

The district wishes to thank everyone for their cooperation and understanding as we work toward a conclusion to this situation.