A northwest Kansas technical college is closed until next week after an outbreak of a contagious skin disease caused by tiny mites.

The first report of scabies at Northwest Kansas Technical College in Goodland came Tuesday when a student went to the administration with symptoms.

Other cases showed up at the Goodland Regional Medical Center on Wednesday, prompting the school to contact the Sherman County Health Department.

The campus will be closed until Tuesday so the itch mites that cause the ailment, which need human hosts to survive, will die within two to three days.

The health department is conducting a campus-wide screening of all students, faculty and staff. Anyone who lives in the school’s dorm is recommended for treatment, which consists of using a topical ointment.