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News
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Weston High Student Diagnosed With Staph Infection
At least one student at Weston High School has been diagnosed with a potentially deadly antibiotic-resistant staph infection, Weston school officials said today.
At a news conference this afternoon, school and health officials cautioned against overreacting.
“I have the impression that what we are dealing with here is not that unusual,” said Interim Superintendent John Reed. Added Dr. Laura Marks, adviser to the Westport Weston Health District, “I want you to know that MRSA is out there.”
“At this point it is one confirmed case and one other possible case, so that is two cases--it is not an epidemic at this point,” she said.
School officials sent a letter home to parents Tuesday informing them that one case of the Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus infection, or MRSA, has been confirmed at the school.
Reed told reporters he had been in touch with state Department of Public Health officials who told him there was no necessity to close Weston High School.
“They certainly have advised us there is no reason to take what I would call extraordinary action,” he said.
A county in southern Virginia closed its 21 schools today to clean them to prevent the spread of the dangerous bacterial infection that killed a 17-year-old high school student, officials said.
Reed said he had reason to believe that the Weston student with the staph infection had contracted it outside of school.
MRSA is a strain of staph bacteria that does not respond to penicillin and related antibiotics but can be treated with other drugs.
The infection can be spread by skin-to-skin contact or sharing an item used by an infected person, particularly one with an open wound.
Staph infections, including the serious MRSA strain, have spread through schools nationwide in recent weeks, according to health and education officials.
The text of the letter from Principal Rose Marie Cipriano and school nurse Sheryl Zulkesk follows:
Dear Students and Parents,
In our mission to maintain the health and welfare of all members of Weston High School, we are proactive in addressing concerns. Our purpose in providing you with accurate information is precaution and prevention, not alarm.
While we cannot confirm the origin of the infection, we do know that we have one confirmed case of community acquired MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) and one unconfirmed case awaiting culture results. We are notifying everyone in the event that there are other possible cases; we are assessing the situation to help limit the spread of this potentially contagious infection.
We have been in contact with the district’s medical adviser Dr. L. Marks, with the Westport Weston Health District and with the Connecticut State Department of Health to review precautionary procedures. Please be assured that we are following the guidelines from the CDC for infectious diseases. We are asking parents to discuss this issue with their children.
“Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus is a type of staph that is resistant to certain antibiotics. MRSA infections in the community are usually manifested as skin infections, such as pimples and boils, and occur in otherwise healthy people. Skin infections caused by staph may be red, swollen, painful or have pus or other drainage...MRSA is transmitted most frequently by direct skin-to-skin contact.”
Anyone who may think he or she has developed fluid filled pimples, pustules, blisters, crusted covered bumps or any other rash that looks suspicious needs to contact his or her physician.
Precautionary protocol as outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention includes “hand washing or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, covering any open skin area such as abrasions or cuts with a clean dry bandage and avoidance of sharing personal items such as towels, razors or athletic equipment.”
If you have any concerns regarding your child’s health, please contact your physician. Of course, questions can also be addressed to Sheryl Zulkeski, the school nurse (291-1680).
Thank you for working in partnership with us.
Sincerely,
Rose Marie Cipriano, Principal
Sheryl Zulkeski, W.H.S. Nurse
Comments: Comment Policy
DO NOT MINIMIZE OR try to set this below the public radar. MSRA is a very aggressive bacteria that can spread in hours once the critical growth is acheived. Parents and students must be keenly aware of the symptoms, not just assuming an alergic reaction or infection that needs a daub of bacitracin, this stuff grows fast and eats tissue. School and public officals need to re-evaluate cleaning procedures and the efficacy of cleanning agents, maybe more that a weekly wipedown of Gym changing areas. The bacteria is very transmissable and robust and can transmitted person to person by touch or touching an area that has MSRA left behind. Panic is not the issue, it should be avoided, proper concern is very important. Grandma said an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I believed her.
(By the way, I am a microbiologist (MS) and understand this)
I have several questions -
1) Is the eleventh grade female student diagnosed with MRSA an athlete?
2) Is the other student pending diagnosis an athlete?
3) Do the students diagnosed and pending diagnosis play or practice a fall field sport on Westport’s synthetic turf fields?
4) Did either student have turf burns that became infected?
5) Open wounds are a risk factor for MRSA infections. How will the Westport Public School system and the WWHD protect student athletes who do play on synthetic turf fields and suffer turf burns now that MRSA has been diagnosed in our community?
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