have you gotten a rash lately?

Chicago Tribune (James Janega) has a story on the possibility that the outbreak of skin rashes may be caused by mites.

Since I was personally affected by this, it meets my definition of news. It affects me.

Knowing the specific species of mite is only a partial solution. One has to apply this knowledge in a way that alleviates the rashes and prevents the parasites from attaching themselves to new hosts.

That's if the problem is caused by mites. The August 17 article promises the mites will quickly be ID'd once in the hands of the expert in Nebraska.

"As soon as we get it, we'll try to identify them," said the specialist, James Kalisch, an entomologist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln who co-wrote a study on a form of Pyemotes mite blamed for a 2004 rash outbreak in Kansas and Nebraska.

Once received, identification would take "not long at all," he said. The samples were expected to arrive in Nebraska Friday, Kalisch said.

A Google news search did not show any newer articles with "Chicago" and "mite" in them.