Rash of Itchiness Puts Army in Hazmat Mode

Twelve children and two adults at Fort Belvoir Elementary School were sent to a hospital yesterday afternoon for treatment of itching and a rash, an outbreak that prompted the U.S. Army to investigate the school for hazardous materials, according to a Fort Belvoir spokesman.

About 3 p.m., Army and Fairfax County emergency workers locked down the school, which is on the Fort Belvoir Army base and operated by Fairfax County Public Schools.

Military police treated it as a "mass casualty incident" and combed the grounds, classrooms and hallways for possible contaminants, Fort Belvoir spokesman Travis Edwards said.

By yesterday evening, they had not identified what caused the outbreak. Officials said the investigation will continue.

Emergency workers told other children and their teachers to stay in their classrooms with the doors locked. The building was sealed from outside air circulation, Fairfax schools spokeswoman Mary Shaw said.

Those suffering from symptoms were isolated in an office and then sent to DeWitt Army Community Hospital, school officials said.

Other children were kept in their classrooms after the usual 4 p.m. dismissal time so they could be evaluated. Doors opened about 5 p.m., and school buses went through their usual routes. Parents who had driven to the school to pick up their children were redirected to another part of the base to await word, Edwards said.

By 5:30 p.m., the hospital had released the Fort Belvoir students and staff after diagnosing the blotchy skin on their arms and neck as a rash and sending them home with over-the-counter antihistamines, Edwards said.

Shaw said the children had been outside playing kickball before they returned to class, when they told teachers that they felt itchy.