"MRSA" = Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus - a virulent, common and ubiquitous antibiotic-resistant
pathogen which can be found in sewage and sewage sludge . . . (see attached files)
2008
http://www.turnto23.com/news/15443708/detail.html
Teen Dies From Staph Infection
POSTED: 5:43 pm PST February 28, 2008
UPDATED: 9:49 am PST February 29, 2008
[See the attached file][See the attached file][See the attached file][See the attached file][See the attached file][See the
attached file][See the attached file]
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- A Bakersfield teenager died from drug-resistant staph infection on Feb 17, according to the
girl’s stepfather, Michael Sanchez.
Sanchez said Marissa Reyna, 16, went to Bakersfield Memorial Hospital with what they thought was a flu-related
illness. He said Reyna was in the hospital for 5 days before she succumbed to the infection.
Reyna was treated by Dr. Muhammad Ashraf-Alim, a pulmonary critical care specialist. She died from methicillin-
resistant Staphylococcus aureus, otherwise known as MRSA
Video: Staph Superbug Kills Bakersfield Teen
Health officials said staph infections are rarely fatal in young people. MRSA has hit Kern County before. Two years
ago, a student at North High also passed away after suffering a staph infection.
Reyna was a junior at West High School. Her funeral was Wednesday.
CDC Web site: Prevention and
****************************************************************************************************************
MRSA confirmed at the Wahluke School District
SmallTownPapers News Service - Seattle,WA,USA Feb. 7, 2008
By Joyce Edie MATTAWA, Washington (STPNS) -- Wahluke School District officials confirmed there is a case of MRSA
(Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus ... high school
OHIO Three MRSA cases confirmed at Lima Senior
LimaOhio.com – OH FEB. 14, 2008
The letter says a person with a confirmed case of MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus), may attend
school, but the wound must be covered. ...
Three MRSA cases confirmed at Lima Senior
Beth L. Jokinen - Feb. 14th, 2008
LIMA — Lima schools officials say that, despite three cases of MRSA being confirmed at Lima Senior High School this
week, the building is safe for students.
SPRINGFIELD, OHIO Feb. 21, 2008
http://www.akron.com:80/akron-ohio-community-news.asp?aID=1725
Help needed for MRSA student fund-raiser
SPRINGFIELD — A spaghetti dinner fund-raiser is being organized for Michael Forrester, the Springfield High School
student who contracted methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in October 2007. Michael has since been
diagnosed with Polyarteritis nodosa, an autoimmune disease that attacks organs and tissues, which requires
chemotherapy treatments. In addition, his father, Ray Baxter, recently was diagnosed with terminal cancer, according
to event oganizers.
The fund-raiser will help the family with mounting medical bills. Tickets are $6 for adults and $3 for children age 10 and
younger.
By Jilly Jackson* as told to Maryn Mckenna MASSACHUSETTS FEB. 2008
[See the attached file]
[See the attached file][See the attached file]http://www.cnn.com:80/2008/HEALTH/conditions/02/22/healthmag.MRSA/
[See the attached file][See the attached file]
[See the attached file]
When I heard that high schools were closing and teenagers were dying because of the MRSA superbug, I felt lucky.
Since the middle of 2006, I've had methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus six times and somehow managed to
avoid the worst: I've never been hospitalized and don't fear for my life. But, please, take my advice and do everything
you can to avoid this dangerous infection.
What is it?
I still didn't know I had MRSA. Truth is, I hardly knew anything about MRSA. But I wasn't getting better, so while I was at
my weekend house in Connecticut, I decided to go to the emergency room. The doctors there gave me a local
anesthetic, then cut open and cleaned out the spot on my buttock. The abscess underneath was big enough that they
had to pack it with absorbent material to soak up pus. When they cultured the infection, I finally learned it was MRSA.
The doctors changed my antibiotic to Augmentin, because the first one wouldn't work against the resistant bug. But
they didn't want to touch the spot on my labia.
I'd have to go to a gynecologist for that.
When I returned to Boston, I went back to my doctor's office to get the packing changed, but the doc wouldn't do it
because they didn't have the necessary surgical tools. I had to go to the emergency room. I went over to the ER in the
same hospital complex; they agreed to change the packing, but didn't want to touch the spot on my labia. Again they
said I needed a gyno. Argh! Five doc-tor's visits for this one infection, and the thing was getting worse. I was losing it.
What is it?
I still didn't know I had MRSA. Truth is, I hardly knew anything about MRSA. But I wasn't getting better, so while I was at
my weekend house in Connecticut, I decided to go to the emergency room. The doctors there gave me a local
anesthetic, then cut open and cleaned out the spot on my buttock. The abscess underneath was big enough that they
had to pack it with absorbent material to soak up pus. When they cultured the infection, I finally learned it was MRSA.
The doctors changed my antibiotic to Augmentin, because the first one wouldn't work against the resistant bug. But
they didn't want to touch the spot on my labia.
wish I could say that was enough to solve the problem. But last winter the infection came back -- again! --this time
under my arm and on my breast. My belly was next, in June, and again in September. Most of these spots, like the
others, needed to be drained, packed, and treated with Bactrim.
“What is it?
I still didn't know I had MRSA. Truth is, I hardly knew anything about MRSA. But I wasn't getting better, so while I was at
my weekend house in Connecticut, I decided to go to the emergency room. The doctors there gave me a local
anesthetic, then cut open and cleaned out the spot on my buttock. The abscess underneath was big enough that they
had to pack it with absorbent material to soak up pus. When they cultured the infection, I finally learned it was MRSA.
The doctors changed my antibiotic to Augmentin, because the first one wouldn't work against the resistant bug. But
they didn't want to touch the spot on my labia.
I'd have to go to a gynecologist for that.
When I returned to Boston, I went back to my doctor's office to get the packing changed, but the doc wouldn't do it
because they didn't have the necessary surgical tools. I had to go to the emergency room. I went over to the ER in the
same hospital complex; they agreed to change the packing, but didn't want to touch the spot on my labia. Again they
said I needed a gyno. Argh! Five doc-tor's visits for this one infection, and the thing was getting worse. I was losing it.
What is it?
I still didn't know I had MRSA. Truth is, I hardly knew anything about MRSA. But I wasn't getting better, so while I was at
my weekend house in Connecticut, I decided to go to the emergency room. The doctors there gave me a local
anesthetic, then cut open and cleaned out the spot on my buttock. The abscess underneath was big enough that they
had to pack it with absorbent material to soak up pus. When they cultured the infection, I finally learned it was MRSA.
The doctors changed my antibiotic to Augmentin, because the first one wouldn't work against the resistant bug. But
they didn't want to touch the spot on my labia.
I'd have to go to a gynecologist for that.
When I returned to Boston, I went back to my doctor's office to get the packing changed, but the doc wouldn't do it
because they didn't have the necessary surgical tools. I had to go to the emergency room. I went over to the ER in the
same hospital complex; they agreed to change the packing, but didn't want to touch the spot on my labia. Again they
said I needed a gyno. Argh! Five doc-tor's visits for this one infection, and the thing was getting worse. I was losing it.
What is it?
I still didn't know I had MRSA. Truth is, I hardly knew anything about MRSA. But I wasn't getting better, so while I was at
my weekend house in Connecticut, I decided to go to the emergency room. The doctors there gave me a local
anesthetic, then cut open and cleaned out the spot on my buttock. The abscess underneath was big enough that they
had to pack it with absorbent material to soak up pus. When they cultured the infection, I finally learned it was MRSA.
The doctors changed my antibiotic to Augmentin, because the first one wouldn't work against the resistant bug. But
they didn't want to touch the spot on my labia.
I'd have to go to a gynecologist for that.
When I returned to Boston, I went back to my doctor's office to get the packing changed, but the doc wouldn't do it
because they didn't have the necessary surgical tools. I had to go to the emergency room. I went over to the ER in the
same hospital complex; they agreed to change the packing, but didn't want to touch the spot on my labia. Again they
said I needed a gyno. Argh! Five doc-tor's visits for this one infection, and the thing was getting worse. I was losing it.
MARYLAND FEBRUARY 20, 2008
Bethesda Student Diagnosed With MRSA
NBC 4.com - Washington,DC,USA
... Thomas Pyle Middle School sent a letter to parents Thursday to alert them that a student was diagnosed with
methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. ...
See all stories on this topic
School taking precautions after MRSA case confirmed Feb. 19, 2008
Glens Falls Post-Star - Glens Falls,NY,USA
By OMAR AQUIJE SCHUYLERVILLE — A Schuylerville High School student has been diagnosed with methicillin-
resistant Staphylococcus aureus, the district ...
See all stories on this topic
****************************************************************************
MINNESOTA – February 13, 2008
Superbug risk strikes Hutchinson
By Jorge Sosa
It’s MRSA — methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus — and it’s here in Hutchinson. “We are starting to see it in our
school population,” said Carol Loch, a nurse with Hutchinson School District 423 and West Elementary. ...
“MRSA is in the community already,” said Kathy Nowak, a public health nurse for McLeod County. “It’s on our hands
and our skins. We’ve usually only seen it in the hospitals, (affecting) people with weakened immune systems. Now we’
re seeing it in healthy young people.”
“Half of the MRSA cases that we’re seeing now,” she added, “almost half, are community-acquired. It’s everywhere.”
****************************************************************************************************
CALIFORNIA FEBRUARY 2008
February 5, 2008
Superbug infects three workers at Wild Animal Park
Three elephant keepers at the San Diego Wild Animal Park have been sickened by the same superbug that killed an
Encinitas boy and sent a high school coach to the hospital last month.
County public health officials are closely monitoring cases of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA,
according to The North County Times.
A 13-year-old Diegueno Middle School seventh-grader died on Jan. 19 from the superbug and a 50-year-
old Fallbrook High School wrestling coach was briefly hospitalized with it two weeks ago.
County Public Health Officer Dr. Wilma Wooten told the Times that it’s unlikely recent visitors to the park were exposed
to the superbug because the infected keepers work in an area off-limits to the public.
—From news services
Posted by PE.com at 9:25 AM, February 05
******************************************************************
NEW JERSEY
3 new cases of MRSA reported
Saturday, January 26, 2008
By Lucas K. Murray
lmurray@sjnewsco.com
WOOLWICH TWP. Three additional Gloucester County students are being treated for cases of the methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus "superbug," commonly referred to as MRSA.
The three students, all of whom attend Kingsway Regional High School, are the first reported cases of the potentially
fatal bacteria in the county for 2008.
Wall high school student has MRSA infection, superintendent says
Asbury Park Press - Asbury Park,NJ,USA
... athlete at Wall Township High School has been diagnosed with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or
MRSA, the schools superintendent said. ...
January 26, 2008
************************************************************************
SOUTH STREATOR: Woodland reports MRSA case
MyWebTimes.com - Ottawa,IL,USA
A Woodland student diagnosed with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus has been cleared by a doctor to
return to class. ...
http://mywebtimes.com:80/ottnews/archives/ottawa/display.php?id=352550
SOUTH STREATOR: Woodland reports MRSA case
01/30/2008, 10:51 am
Comment on this story
A Woodland student diagnosed with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus has been cleared by a doctor to
return to class.
Superintendent Doug Foster said additional cleaning steps were taken to prevent spread of the bacteria and students
have been reminded of the importance of practicing good hygiene. Parents received a letter notifying them of the
MRSA case.
VIRGINIA FEBRUARY 23, 2008
Sandusky Middle cleans up after new MRSA case
Lynchburg News and Advance - Lynchburg,VA,USA
The parent of the student with the antibiotic-resistant infection - methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureaus - alerted
school administrators Friday. ...
See all stories on this topic
**************************************************************************
Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2008 11:18 PM
NB elementary school reports case of MRSA New Jersey
North Brunswick Sentinel - NJ, USA
BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer NORTH BRUNSWICK - A case of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus
(MRSA) was confirmed at Judd Elementary School on Jan ...
See all stories on this topic
Cases of MRSA confirmed in Sandy Creek schools – NEW YORK
Posted by Meghan Rubado January 12, 2008 4:52PM
Categories: Breaking News, Oswego County, Schools
The Sandy Creek School District sent out a district-wide letter that was received by parents today alerting them that
the school had experienced multiple cases of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA.
CALIFORNIA – SAN DIEGO – 13 YR. OLD BOY DIES OF Staph-MRSA infection January 19, 2008
Diep. This tragic story today from San Diego is just a single example from a Google news search for "staph" or "MRSA"
of how prevalent the problem really is for heterosexuals.
The death of Brian Carbaugh shows how MRSA respects no sexual orientation identity or STD transmission routes or
age of the patient or geographic location, and reminds us all how reprehensible it was of UCSF media relations officers
to zero in on gays, instead of stressing how we are all at-risk for staph infections.
From today's San Diego Union Tribune: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20080126-9999-
1mc26mrsa.html
SUPERBUG KILLS TEEN
ENCINITAS – Last Christmas, Brian Carbaugh's brother visited the UCSD Burn Center to drop off toys for children
being treated there.
It was a tradition that Brian, 13, started years ago, after he had severely burned his feet in a fire pit as a toddler. The
Encinitas boy had been treated at the center, enduring unimaginable pain with a cheerful face and unyielding bravery,
nurse Maury Scott said.
Brian couldn't make his annual Christmas delivery because he was back in the hospital – the victim of a vicious
bacterial infection that on Jan. 19 took his life.
Scott said he and other nurses were aware that Brian had been ill, but “we didn't know it would develop into this.” [...]
Officials with the San Dieguito Union School District said Brian may have contracted the bacterial infection, known as
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, at a wrestling class at the Boys & Girls Club of San Dieguito.
[...] *****************************************************************
Another MRSA death – Washington, DC February 26, 2008 –
11 year old GIRL
DC Student Who Died In Hospital Had MRSA
NBC 4.com - Washington,DC,USA
WASHINGTON -- An 11-year-old girl who died three weeks ago at an area hospital tested positive for methicillin-
resistant Staphylococcus aureus. ...
See all stories on this topic
School Waits 2 Weeks for Death Notice of Contagious Child
WJLA - Washington,DC,USA
Robinson had been out of school for several days before her death and school officials say the Health Department
determined her illness did not pose an ...
Student Diagnosed With MRSA Dies
MyFox Washington DC - Washington,DC,USA
Student Diagnosed With MRSA Dies
Last Edited: Tuesday, 26 Feb 2008, 2:44 PM EST
Created: Tuesday, 26 Feb 2008, 1:58 PM EST
[See the attached file]
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a type of bacteria that is resistant to certain antibiotics.
[See the attached file]
An 11-year-old Bunker Hill Elementary School student died several weeks ago after being diagnosed with Methicillin-
resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). It is unclear at this time if the death was directly related to the infection.
Students at the Northeast D.C. school were given a letter on Monday explaining a child was infected with MRSA at the
school and precautions parents should take to prevent infection.
D.C. Public Schools spokesman Mafara Hobson said, “The children at the school are not at risk.”
According to Hobson, the student had not been at the school in weeks.
************************************************************
ANOTHER CALIFORNIA STAPH DEATH – 15 YEAR OLD RIVERSIDE CTY. BOY JANUARY 2008
California lags in reporting of hospitals’ drug-resistant infection rates
Experts say the state should require healthcare facilities to publicly disclose such information.
By Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
February 24, 2008
“In 2004, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed legislation in California that would have required public reporting of
hospital infection rates, saying that the state already provided enough oversight and that hospitals were making an
effort to control infections. Two years later, the governor signed less stringent legislation sponsored by the hospital
industry that required hospitals to publicly report infection-control policies.
To some patient advocates, that fell far short.
“The public doesn’t care about what processes you’re doing — we want to know about the results,” said Carole Moss,
a Riverside mother who started a patient advocacy group after her 15-year-old son died from a drug-resistant staph
infection at an Orange County hospital. “
*******************************************************************
LOGAN, OHIO 14 YEAR OLD DIES FROM MRSA INFECTION DEC. 2007
Community rallies to help boy's family
Student died from MRSA in December
Leslie Gray
Logan Daily News Reporter
NEW LEXINGTON − The New Lexington community has banded together to help out the family of Tyler Bundock, a
middle school student who died from a rare strand of MRSA, and to honor his life that was cut far too short.
"I think it is important for the community to come together and help someone who has lost," Kathy Fiore, a friend of the
Bundock family, said. "It is important to come together in times like this."
Bundock died on Dec. 20 at 14-years-old after suddenly being infected with MRSA (Menthicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus), a bacterium that causes infection and is tough to treat because of is resistant to many
antibiotics. He was an 8th grade student at New Lexington Middle School and was in the marching band.
****************************************************************************
ANOTHER STAPH DEATH- STATE OF WASHINGTON FE . 22, 2008
WWU student dies of staph infection
Bellingham Herald - Bellingham,WA,USA
Officials believe the death of Chris Feden, 20, of Tenino was an isolated event, not part of an outbreak. Feden went to
the hospital late last week with an ...
See all stories on this topic
http://www.transworldnews.com:80/NewsStory.aspx?id=38325&cat=8
“Universal Detection Technology (UDTT.OB) commented on the fatality of a Western Washington University student.
The reported death was supposedly caused by Methicillin-resistan Staphylococcus (MRSA) induced pneumonia. The
Company has launched a new hub for online sales and marketing of anti-microbial products that eliminate harmful
bacteria such as MRSA.
The student was twenty-years of age and was admitted to the intensive care unit of St. Joseph Hospital in Washington
on February 14th, after he reported that he had been coughing for two weeks and progressed to a fever, vomiting,
and coughing up blood. The young man died later, although doctors did their best to treat him with antibiotics.
Up until recently, pneumonia caused by MRSA has become a medical phenomenon, and it was only five years ago that
it was a confirmed strain. MRSA has been linked to nursing homes and hospital settings in the previous years, but this
is the second reported student death of MRSA in the last year. MRSA is responsible for over 94,000 serious infections
and nearly 19,000 deaths each year.”
Feb, 22, 2008
HEALTH
WWU student dies of staph infection
Drug-resistant bacteria is cause in unusual case
BELLINGHAM — Western Washington University is offering counseling — and information about MRSA — after a
student died Wednesday night of MRSA pneumonia.
Officials believe the death of Chris Feden, 20, of Tenino was an isolated event, not part of an outbreak.
Feden went to the hospital late last week with an upper respiratory infection and was diagnosed with methicillin-
resistant Staphylococcus aureus, more commonly known by its acronym, MRSA, said Dr. Greg Stern, Whatcom County
health officer.
http://www.goerie.com:80/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080115/LIFESTYLES07/801150376
Pennsylvania jan. 2008 – 32 year old woman dies of staph infection
Judge orders woman's records released
Published: January 15. 2008 6:00AM
Millcreek Community Hospital has been ordered to turn over all of its medical records pertaining to Cheri Lyons, an
Erie woman who died Thursday while battling Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
Erie County Judge Ernest J. DiSantis signed the court order Monday at the request of Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook.
Cook said he wants them to determine Lyons' cause of death.
"I should get the records by the end of the week," Cook said.
Hospital officials told the coroner's office that Lyons had MRSA but died from late-stage cervical cancer. Members of
Lyons' family have insisted she died from the infection.
Lyons, 32, worked as a caseworker with the Erie County Office of Children and Youth, 154 W. Ninth St. County officials
ordered her workstation disinfected and her computer, telephone and personal belongings bagged after learning from
a family member she had MRSA.
Millcreek Community officials are not commenting about Lyons, citing patient-privacy laws.
[hospitals getting very edgy about liability in MRSA/staph deaths ]
http://www.themoneytimes.com/articles/20080216/who_warns_of_worsening_influenza_season-id-1017386.html
WHO warns of worsening influenza season
by Poonam Wadhwani - February 16, 2008 - 0 comments
The World Health Organization expressed their concern about the ongoing bad flu season. WHO said the current
influenza season is getting so worse that it can overpower the existing method of treating the infections.
“The number of children who have died from the flu has risen to10 since Sept. 30, the flu season's official
start. Of the total fatalities, four were due to Staphylococcus aureus coinfections, a complication that the
CDC recently urged physicians to watch for and report.
Health experts know that influenza viruses mutate constantly, so they meet throughout the year to monitor the flu
seasons and consider how to formulate the vaccine.
Flu vaccines contain the three most common circulating strains, usually two from the Type A family of influenza, and
one from Type B.”
http://www.nj.com:80/news/expresstimes/nj/index.ssf?/base/news-7/120037351399150.xml&coll=2 NEW JERSEY
School amps up its fight against MRSA
Three Hunterdon Central wrestlers had staph infection recently. Consultant hired to help.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
BY BEV McCARRON
The Star-Ledger
Wrestling mats are sterilized three times a day. Coaches and trainers inspect student wrestlers at practice for signs of
lesions or bumps that could mean a staph infection.
Still, after three wrestlers at Hunterdon Central Regional High School were diagnosed with methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus, commonly known as MRSA, the district hired an environmental consultant to see if there is
anything more it could be doing to prevent the spread of the disease.
http://www.canada.com:80/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=874ce408-5e75-4a88-8c87-73b6263b42c8
Gay men spreading deadly superbug
Drug-resistant bacteria found outside hospitals
Amanda Beck, Reuters
Published: Tuesday, January 15, 2008
A drug-resistant strain of potentially deadly bacteria has moved beyond the borders of U.S. hospitals and is being
transmitted among gay men during sex, researchers said Monday.
They said methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, is beginning to appear outside hospitals in San
Francisco, Boston, New York and Los Angeles.
Sexually active gay men in San Francisco are 13 times more likely to be infected than their heterosexual neighbours,
the researchers reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
"Once this reaches the general population, it will be truly unstoppable," said Binh Diep, a researcher at the
University of California, San Francisco who led the study. "That's why we're trying to spread the message of
prevention."
According to chemical analyses, bacteria are spreading among the gay communities of San Francisco and Boston, the
researchers said.
"We think that it's spread through sexual activity," Diep said.
This superbug can cause life-threatening and disfiguring infections and can often only be treated with expensive,
intravenous antibiotics.
It killed about 19,000 Americans in 2005, most of them in hospitals, according to a report published in October in the
Journal of the American Medical Association.
About 30 per cent of all people carry ordinary staph chronically. It can be passed by touching other people or by
depositing the bacteria on surfaces or objects. The bacteria can cause deep-tissue infections if they enter the body
through a wound in the skin.
Of those people who carry staph, most carry it in their noses but community-based MRSA also can live in and around
the anus and is passed between sexual partners.
Incidence of MRSA is rising along with a resurgence of syphilis, rectal gonorrhea, and HIV infections,
partly due to changes in beliefs about the severity of HIV and an increase in risky behaviors, such as illicit
drug use and sex that abrades the skin, Diep's team wrote.
******************************************************
CONNECTICUT
http://www.acorn-online.com:80/news/publish/lewisboro/27700.shtml
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jan 17, 2008
School physician says disease is treatable
By MATT DALEN
Student with rare staph strain returns to school
After cases in many nearby towns, the Katonah-Lewisboro School District has received its first case of methicillin-
resistant Staphylococcus aureus, more commonly known as MRSA, a rare and potentially life-threatening form of
staph. Despite its reputation and high-profile coverage in the media, school officials emphasized that the disease is not
a cause for alarm.
“This is not an epidemic, this is not a killer bug, this is entirely treatable, and you’ve just got to wash your hands,” said
Dr. Louis Corsaro of the Katonah Medical Group, the district’s school physician. “The press has made MRSA into a
killer bug. It’s not a killer bug; it’s an entirely treatable issue, it just needs attention.”
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Roelle told The Ledger that the student who contracted the disease, a middle
school student, was already back in school on Tuesday.
A common infection
Staphylococcus bacteria are common, living on the skin of about 25% to 30% of the population, according to Dr.
Corsaro. Problems occur only when the bacteria enter a cut or scratch, where they can cause infection in the form of
red, swollen skin, with pus or other liquid. More severe cases can cause pneumonia, blood stream infections or serious
infections.
MRSA received its reputation because it is a strain of staph that does not respond to the normal antibiotics used to
treat staph infections. Dr. Corsaro said this does not mean it isn’t treatable.
“The kids can return to school if they’re on therapy. There’s been staph in every single school in the entire area at one
time or another. We continue to see it pretty much weekly, particularly in athletes,” he said of the more common staph
infection, not MRSA.
Athletes, especially wrestlers, are more susceptible to the bacteria because they are often in close contact with each
other and are more likely to develop scratches and cuts. Dr. Corsaro said the best way to prevent staph infections was
to practice good hygiene.
MICHIGAN DETROIT JANUARY 21, 2008
Lahser scrubs down after MRSA infects student
By Eric Czarnik
C & G Staff Writer
BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP — Lahser High School workers sanitized the building’s athletic facilities and other rooms
after test results showed on Jan. 18 that a student wrestler had methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA.
Bloomfield Hills Schools is telling students, faculty and parents about the situation, said district spokeswoman Betsy
Erikson. But she said the outbreak did not catch the district off-guard.
“We certainly learn from our colleagues in other districts,” she said.
In recent months, several metro Detroit schools have reportedly had students who were infected with
MRSA, including Lamphere, Stevenson and Clawson high schools.
*******************************************************8
VIRGINIA To: hshields@worldpath.net
Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2008 7:37 PM
Staph Infection Reported at Bells Mill
Potomac Almanac - VA,USA
By Aaron Stern/The Almanac One month after a teacher at Herbert Hoover Middle School died from a staph infection
Bells Mill Elementary reported last week ...
See all stories on this topic