OKLAHOMA CITY ? The Oklahoma State Department of Health is working with Kansas health officials to investigate a rash illness by people in northeastern Oklahoma and southeastern Kansas, the department said Wednesday.

County health departments in Tulsa, Ottawa and Craig counties have received reports similar to the rash first reported in Kansas.

The rash appears to be the result of bites from the straw itch mite, a parasite that feeds on insect larvae associated with grain and storage and is so small it is invisible to the naked eye and floats in the breeze like dust, the department said.

“We are working with the county health departments and local providers to identify how many people currently have the rash,” said OSDH epidemiologist Sara Russell.

“It is not contagious and generally clears in a week or two,” Russell said.

There is no evidence the bites transmit disease or that mites can be spread from one person to another.

Oral antihistamines and anti-itch creams applied to the skin provide relief from the rash, the department said.

Oklahoma and Kansas health officials recommend using insect repellent containing the chemical DEET to prevent the bites.

The mites should decrease or disappear after the first frost.