Rash infects athletes

Tooele wrestler Spencer Arslanian has been laid up in an LDS Hospital bed since Tuesday afternoon with an expanding rash on his arm.

Eighteen wrestlers and two coaches who contracted a skin rash at Delta High School missed their third straight day of school Thursday, and many were expected to miss today, too.

Two wrestlers at North Sanpete are also believed to have contracted the rash.

Health officials suspect the rash is a form of staphylococcus (staph) infection. But they won't know for sure until test results come back today.

The Central Utah Health Department, headquartered in Richfield, is working with the team to determine the cause of the rash and how best to treat it. Meanwhile, staff at the Utah Department of Health is trying to contact other wrestling teams the Delta team competed against and potentially infected, department spokesman Steve McDonald said.

Tooele and Delta wrestled at the same 32-team Uintah Tournament of Champions in Vernal last weekend, but North Sanpete did not. If tests confirm that the North Sanpete wrestler is indeed infected, that could possibly link the infection back to a dual meet between Delta and North Sanpete last Wednesday.

McDonald said health officials aren't unduly concerned because "unless a person is immunocompromised or has an antibiotic resistant strain, that individual should respond well to antibiotics."

In the case of Tooele's Arslanian, the rash started as a small eraser-size red spot on his arm. On Sunday afternoon it popped, and his family took him to an urgent care clinic. Doctors administered a shot and prescribed an oral medication that should've cleared up the problem. After additional visits to the clinic Monday and Tuesday, Arslanian's parents were advised to take him to the emergency room.

"Down at Delta, the rash has stayed on top of the surface," said Carie Arslanian, Spencer's mother. "With Spencer, it has gone underneath the skin and into the tissue. If you were to see his arm, it's scary."

Doctors are treating the 215-pound wrestler with heavy antibiotics but won't release him until he goes 24 hours without a fever. As of Thursday night, he still had a fever, and the rash spread from his armpit to his forearm.

Tooele is scheduled to host a six-team wrestling tournament Saturday, and if no other Tooele wrestlers contract the rash by Saturday, it probably won't be canceled.