Staph infection outbreaks worry schools

RICHMOND — Schools across the region are reporting outbreaks of staph infections, including an antibiotic-resistant strain, prompting officials to issue reminders about the importance of thorough handwashing and other preventive measures.

Many of the infections are being spread in gyms and locker rooms, where football players and other athletes — perhaps suffering from cuts or abrasions — share sports equipment, officials say. Staphylococcus aureus bacteria infections generally are not life-threatening.

However, the Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strain can be especially stubborn. MRSA, pronounced “mersa,” resists treatment with penicillin and related antibiotics but can be treated with other drugs. MRSA got its foothold in hospitals and in recent years has spread to other community settings, including schools.

In Virginia, a Newport News high school closed its weight room Thursday after at least four students were infected — at least one of them with MRSA, local school and health officials said. The MRSA patient, a football player, was hospitalized Sunday and released Wednesday.

Michelle Price, a spokeswoman for Newport News public schools, said the weight room and equipment would be disinfected over the weekend. Information about the skin infections and how to prevent them was being sent to parents, she said.

Several students have also been infected with staph in Bedford and Campbell counties, officials said, and one Bedford student required hospitalization.

Virginia is not the only state experiencing a rash of infections.

In neighboring Maryland, more than two dozen staph infections have been reported by four Anne Arundel County high schools over the past three weeks. School officials there said there was no cause for alarm and that crews have been scrubbing all 12 high schools with a hospital-grade disinfectant.

The Virginia Department of Education and the Virginia Health Department do not compile staph infection data. However, state public schools spokesman Charles Pyle said the department’s health specialist has received about eight calls regarding the problem since school started after receiving only two calls all last fall.

“We’re not viewing this as something to be overly alarmed about,” Mr. Pyle said.

He said the department will send information about prevention and treatment to Virginia’s 132 school districts for distribution to schools and parents.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta has no national data on staph infections but is aware that it seems more widespread, spokeswoman Nicole Coffin said.