MRSA- Should You Be Concerned About Staph Outbreaks? There are two ways you can have MRSA.

October 25, 2007

There are two ways you can have MRSA.

1. You can have an active infection. An active infection means you have symptoms. The types of symptoms depend on where the bacteria are located. Usually an active infection is a skin infection, such as a boil, a sore, or an infected cut.

2. You can be a carrier. If you are a carrier you do not have symptoms that you can see, but you still have MRSA bacteria living on your skin and in your nose. If you are a carrier, your provider may say that you are colonized. These words — "carrier" and "colonized" — mean the same thing.

Reality Check: Should You Be Concerned About Staph Outbreaks?

Posted: 5:08 PM Oct 24, 2007Last Updated: 7:10 PM Oct 24, 2007

More Cases Of Staph Infections

It's been on the minds of parents and students all across the state.

27 NEWSFIRST is learning about more reported cases of staph infection in Kentucky schools, where even day cares have been affected.

Parents with children at a daycare facility on Versailles Road got letters today after a reported case there.

Schools in Morgan County were closed today for cleaning and disinfecting after reports of a high school student there contracting an antibiotic resistant strain of staph infection called MRSA.

8 students have been diagnosed with the infection at Ryle High School in Boone County, and a letter was sent home to parents of students at Rockcastle County Middle School, informing them it has confirmed "one of our students does have a staph infection."

With all this in mind, the state's epidemiologist says it's understandable that parents are concerned right now, but there's no reason for them to shift into panic mode.

Dr. Kraig Humbaugh, Director of the Kentucky Division of Epidemiology, says the easiest and best way of preventing MRSA is frequent and thorough hand washing.

Dr. Humbaugh doesn't predict a worst case scenario, in which all Kentucky schools would have to be temporarily shut down and disinfected.

He says The environmental disinfection part is important, but not as important as what students can do to protect themselves.

The Department of Public Health says one reason bacteria like this become resistant to antibiotics, is that people often don't take the entire course of antibiotics prescribed by their doctor.

Find this article at: http://www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/10773216.html

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www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal-md.bacteria25oct25,0,308264.story

baltimoresun.com

Three area students treated for staph infections

Latest diagnoses include two in Baltimore County, one in Harford

By Madison Park

Sun reporter

October 25, 2007

Students in two more school systems in the Baltimore area have been diagnosed with a form of staph infection that is resistant to antibiotics, school officials confirmed yesterday.Two students in Baltimore County and one in Harford County have been treated for skin infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, known as MRSA, school officials said. And a Dundalk middle school sent letters yesterday alerting parents that three students were being treated for skin infections. It is not known whether those cases are staph.Parents of students at Prospect Mill Elementary School in Bel Air were notified about the situation in a letter sent home Monday.Don Morrison, a Harford schools spokesman, said school officials do not know precisely when the child was diagnosed but that it occurred "some time ago; it's not in the recent week or two."MRSA is a potentially lethal bacterium that has developed resistance to antibiotics such as penicillin, amoxicillin and oxacillin and is believed to cause up to 19,000 deaths a year nationwide.Morrison sought to reassure parents, saying there is no cause for alarm because it was an isolated case."There is no outbreak," Morrison said. "There is no MRSA at a particular school. We're talking about a student who attends a particular school, who had the infection. There is no evidence or indication that the student picked up the infection at the school."Classes at Prospect Mill have continued as usual all week, Morrison said. Yesterday, the school reported a 7 percent absentee rate, slightly higher than the 5 percent average.Benita Berg of Bel Air said she kept her son home from school yesterday after receiving the letter. "I wanted to educate myself more on MRSA and how it's contracted," she said.In Baltimore County, officials said they do not know what schools the students with the confirmed cases of MRSA attend.The principal at General John Stricker Middle, where the other three cases of skin infection were reported, wrote in a letter to parents that the desks, chairs and cafeteria tables would be disinfected last night. A fact sheet about skin infections accompanied the letter."We want parents to be aware and informed but not alarmed," said Kara Calder, spokeswoman for Baltimore County schools. "We don't have any reason to believe we have an infectious environment."People commonly carry the staph bacteria on their skin or in their noses without developing symptoms. Infection develops when the bacteria enter cuts, scrapes or breaks in the skin."In general, staph MRSA is ubiquitous," said Dr. Andrew Bernstein, Harford health officer. "It's found everywhere. It's not just in schools; it's in the community."Preventive measures include thoroughly cleaning cuts and washing hands with soap or an alcohol-based sanitizer.Other school systems in Maryland have reported staph infections among students recently.Anne Arundel County reported more than 50 cases, including one MRSA case, at several high schools. Last week, Howard County school officials sent a letter home to parents after a second staph case was reported at Wilde Lake High.

madison.park

Sun reporter Gina Davis contributed to this article.

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