Perry Elementary officials have alerted district families to a scabies outbreak.

The first scabies cases were diagnosed in the school's preschool program, elementary Principal Laura Skeel wrote in a letter Tuesday to families.

"While we have been working with this for a couple of weeks with one student, in the last 24 hours there have been a few other students and staff who have had symptoms that appear to be scabies and are receiving treatment," Skeel said.

The Des Moines Register reached out to officials at the Perry Community School District and the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services for comment.

The itchy skin rash associated with scabies is caused by burrowing mites called Sarcoptes scabiei, according to the Mayo Clinic. Mites are spread through close person-to-person contact.

In recent weeks, district officials have been speaking with the Iowa Department of Health & Human Services, a pesticide company, school attorneys, an Iowa Department of Education school nurse and local doctors to learn more about scabies and how to prevent the spread, the letter states.

The letter goes on to state that scabies is a " relatively common skin infestation, caused by an immune response to a mite, and not an infection or virus or bacteria." Scabies are a "nuisance that is similar to head lice and is not dangerous and does not spread disease."

"There is no recommendation or guideline to be excluded from school or daycare settings for any longer if they have been treated," the letter states.

"According Nick Kalas, the epidemiologist from the Iowa Department of Public Health, it is 'borderline impossible for scabies to be transmitted to someone in a different classroom, unless there is an undiagnosed case within that room,'" Skeel wrote.

She advises parents and caregivers to see a doctor if they are concerned someone in their household may have contracted scabies.

"While I understand that scabies (and head lice or bed bugs or cockroaches or any other bug!) are not fun to have in the classroom and make everyone cautious, I am confident that we have done our due diligence to ensure that we have done our best to minimize the spread of scabies," she said.

As I am sure you have heard, we have had diagnosed cases of scabies in our preschool program. While we have been working with this for a couple of weeks with one student, in the last 24 hours there have been a few other students and staff who have had symptoms that appear to be scabies and are receiving treatment. In the last several weeks, there have been several conversations with the Iowa Department of Public Health, our district pesticide company, our school attorneys, the Department of Education School Nurse, and the local doctor's office about scabies and how to prevent the spread. What I have learned in the last few weeks about scabies is that there is a wealth of information with varying degrees of severity regarding the rate at which it spreads and how to treat. Today, Mr. Wicks, Mrs. Rinker, Ms. Hix and I had a phone call with the Iowa Department of Public Health Epidemiologist, Nick Kalas, who shared some information with us about scabies. A summary from the department of health is attached to this email, and a summary of my notes is below. I am sharing this information in hopes of easing your minds and clearing some of the information about scabies.

While I understand that scabies (and head lice or bed bugs or cockroaches or any other bug!) are not fun to have in the classroom and make everyone cautious, I am confident that we have done our due diligence to ensure that we have done our best to minimize the spread of scabies. If you are worried that you might have contracted scabies, I encourage you to ask your doctor for a skin scraping to fully confirm and seek treatment from your doctor.

I will be in the library after school from 3-3:15 if anyone has questions about scabies. We will have a guiding coalition meeting beginning at 3:15 in 4F. I realize that some staff may need to leave to vote after school, which is fine. We will still plan to meet as a guiding coalition and can reconvene at a later date if needed.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out.