Staph Infections Hit Local High Schools

CBS 6 News has learned that two students at Ballston Spa High School were diagnosed with a drug-resistant bacterial infection called MRSA in the past two months.

The school sent parents a letter Wednesday afternoon notifying them of the two cases; the first had been diagnosed during the first week of September, the other in the first week of October, administrators said.

CBS 6 also learned that Germantown High School sent a letter to parents two weeks ago to report two cases of the infection there.

Reports of MRSA Explode Across Country, Cause New Concern

The cases were announced one day after a Virginia teen died of complications resulting from the drug-resistant bacteria infection Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA, pronounced "mersa").

Staph infections are common in the country and are generally non-life threatening, but the MRSA strain is particularly worrisome because it does not respond to antibiotic treatment.

Additionally, and perhaps more unsettling, the MRSA infection is difficult to distinguish from the milder forms of staph infection. As a result, those who are infected often ignore minor cuts and scrapes, giving the infection time to grow and travel through the blood stream.

The highly contagious MRSA got a foothold in hospitals and in recent years has spread to other dense community settings -- like schools -- across the country.

In school environments, 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.

Ballston Spa and Germantown High Schools' announcements come on the heels of a new report published in the Journal of American Medical Association showing MRSA is more common than previously thought, infecting an estimated 94,000 people a year and killing 18,650 of them -- exceeding the death rate for HIV/AIDS in the U.S.

At Columbia Memorial Hospital alone, CBS 6 discovered, 12 people were treated for community-acquired MRSA in September. In October, the number of patients coming in with MRSA rose to 18.

The New York State Health Department does not keep track of staph cases because it is not considered a reportable infection, but a spokesperson told CBS 6 that it was in the process of creating a new system to keep track of staph cases.

High Schools Say They Are Taking Measures to Protect Students

The prevention supervisor for Saratoga County, Terry Stortz, told CBS 6 that Ballston Spa High School had been working with the county in the last week and a half to monitor and prevent the MRSA outbreak, though they never felt the need to close the school at any point.

In the meantime, the two affected students have been treated and are back in class.

The locker rooms and the pool area at the school are now undergoing extra cleaning and disinfection.

School officials have also asked athletes to shower immediately after practice and to take all practice gear home every night to be washed.

The school also reminded parents to reinforce good hygiene practices with their children.

Such practices include washing hands often; keeping cuts and scrapes clean and covered with bandages; and not sharing personal items like towels, razors and sports equipment.

If your child displays symptoms of boils, soft tissue infection, and skin that show redness, areas warm to the touch pain, drainage, discomfort and swelling, contact your family doctor immediately, as well as the child's school and the child's athletic trainer (if your child is an athlete).