CLAYTON — March 14, 1996 - 12:14 p.m. EST

Some second and third-grade students at Cooper Elementary School in Clayton have come down with a rash, but doctors say it's pregnant teachers who should be most concerned.

The condition is known as Fifth Disease, or Erythema Infectiosum. It makes for itchy kids, but poses a greater risk to women in the first tri-mester of pregnancy.

If untreated, the diseasecouldcause fetal death.

Three pregnant teachers at Cooper were told to see their doctors to be tested. All three teachers are beyond the first tri-mester of pregnancy.

Symptoms of Fifth include a low-grade fever, aches and pains and a runny nose, all of which can develop a week or two before the tell-tale red rash appears. Itching is the main problem.

Doctors say to consult your physician if you think you've been exposed