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Friday, 02 November 2007 |
By KAREN CAMPBELL
Staff Writer
Students are advised to take extra precautions in practicing good personal hygiene skills as two suspected cases of the skin infection MRSA have surfaced in Wapakoneta City Schools.
A student at both Wapakoneta Middle School and Wapakoneta High School are suspected of having Methicillin Resistant Staphyloccus Aureus, or MRSA. No clinical results are available, but Wapakoneta School Superintendent Keith Horner said they are treating the cases as if they are confirmed.
An informational letter went home with every student in the district on Thursday afternoon, and news was posted on the Wapakoneta City Schools Web site. Information was distributed via e-mail to staff members Thursday morning.
“The Health Department recommended we not close school,” Horner said. “The custodial staff is taking extra preventative steps to prevent the spread of the infection, these include cleaning rooms with a disinfectant that is intended to kill the bacteria, using liquid antibacterial cleaner for the bathrooms and using a pH disinfectant in mop water.
“These are the initial steps we are taking,” he said. “We’re always concerned in these situations, but we rely on the professionals to determine the best course of action. We will work with the Health Department, the school nurse and our own staff to take the necessary precautions to limit any further spread of MRSA.”
Wapakoneta City Schools are not alone in dealing with the resilliant infection, every school in the county has had cases, Health Department Infectious Disease Nurse Deb Scheer said.
“There’s so much MRSA out there, it’s really in every school system and has been,” Scheer said.
St. Marys City Schools also sent information out to parents this week about preventing the spread of MRSA, which they had a confirmed cause of a couple months ago. Waynesfield-Goshen School officials said they have had no confirmed cases that they are aware of, but that they continue to take precautions.
Scheer said the exact number of cases can be hard to determine as parents are not required to tell school districts if their children have it and it is not reportable to the Health Department. Also, not everyone suspected of having it has a culture taken because of the high cost.
The infection can occur anywhere Scheer said, but some settings make it easier to be transmitted. Referred to as the five C’s — crowding, skin-to-skin contact, compromised skin, contaminated items and lack of cleanliness — MRSA can be more easily transmitted in schools, dorms, military barracks, households, correctional facilities and daycare centers, where these conditions are more likely.
MRSA typically appears first as a boil or pimple-like skin irritation that often is thought to be a bug bite, but can become red and infected with drainage. The infection typically occurs at the site of visible skin trauma such as cuts and abraisions and areas of the body covered by hair.
It is often treatable in the early stages just by draining the pus. Special antibodies are required because MRSA is so resistant to antibiotics, Scheer said.
Anyone suspecting they have it should contact their physician, as MRSA needs to be treated properly to prevent the condition from getting worse and wounds from growing deeper.
If that occurs a person increases his risk to develop other health problems, such as pneumonia, bloodstream or bone infections. It is very rarely that anyone with an intact immune system would die from an infection, Scheer said.
“Transmissions from casual contact (being in the same room with someone else with an infection) is unlikely,” said Auglaize County Medical Director Dr. Wilfred Ellis, who is an infectious disease specialist from Lima. “Expert opinion on this issue recommends against closing schools when cases of MRSA present, but instead emphasizing the practice of good personal hygiene at home and school on a daily basis.”
In the case of an infection, it is not necessary that the entire district be notified, as MRSA has been and remains a common cause of skin infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Unless directed by a physician, students with MRSA should not be excluded from attending school, according to the CDC. Only those with draining wounds that cannot be covered and contained in a clean, dry bandage or who cannot maintain good personal hygiene should stay home. Students with active infections should be excluded from activities where skin-to-skin contact is likely to occur, such as sports, until their infections are healed.
Health Department officials have been working with all county schools to educate staff and Scheer said they will continue to provide inservices to anyone interested in learning more. Letters have been sent to all area physicians as well.
“We’ve been aware of the staph infection for years,” Scheer said. “It is here. It has been here and people need to be aware.”
Scheer said MRSA used to be more prevalent in hospital type settings, but more people are acquiring it out in the community, possibly due to the over use of antibotics through the years.
More attention has been given to the infection lately as the media has begun reporting on cases throughout the state. At least 10 Ohio schools reported confirmed cases of MRSA in October. A Fairborn school canceled classes for the day.
Health experts trace added attention to MRSA to a study released in October reporting that staph bacteria kill 19,000 Americans each year, more than the number who die of AIDS, according to the Associated Press. A Virginia teen and a New York preteen died from MRSA infections last month, but officials said more people, approximately 36,000, die each year from the seasonal flu, making it more deadly.
“People need to be educated, but there doesn’t need to be panic,” Scheer said. “People just need to know now what they can do to protect themselves.
“I think people worry because they don’t understand it,” she said. “The media has scared them.”
Preventing the spread of MRSA:
• Practice good hygiene – keep hands clean by washing with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer and shower immediately after exercising
• Cover skin abrasions and cuts with a clean, dry bandage until healed
• Avoid sharing personal items (such as towels and razors) that come into contact with bare skin or use a barrier between skin and shared equipment such as weight-training benches
• Maintain a clean environment by establishing cleaning procedures for frequently touched surfaces that come into direct contact with people’s skin
• Clean and disinfect surfaces that likely came into contact with uncovered or poorly covered infections
• Cleaning surfaces with detergent-based cleaners or Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered disinfectants is effective at removing MRSA from the environment.
• Anyone with questions may call the Auglaize County Health Department at 419-738-3410, the school nurse at 419-739-5214 or the district office at 419-739-2900. |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 05 November 2007 )
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