The nursing supervisor for the Westport School District Monday night reviewed a recent MRSA staph infection involving a Westport student as well as precautions that can be taken to prevent the potentially deadly antibiotic resistant infection.
Nadine Schwab addressed the Board of Education following last week’s disclosure that a case of MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus), a bacterium resistant to certain antibiotics, involving a Westport student had been treated successfully. (See WestportNow Oct. 19, 2007)
She said a number of parents had asked why the school district did not disclose which school was involved.
“This was a case that happened a few weeks ago,” she said. “It was identified very early, treated very early and was never from a public health point of view considered communicable in a school setting.
“So even if we had known then, it’s not likely there would have been any notice.”
She said school officials only learned of the case after media coverage of the issue.
Schwab added, “In order to protect the privacy of our students, we never give out more information than is necessary.”
She suggested that rather than focusing on that one case, everyone should be practicing good hygiene practices every day.
“The good news is that the cases we have and haven’t known about in this community have been treated successfully,” she said.
Schwab said school officials have been looking over what they have done in athletics, including how cleaning is done of physical education equipment.
She said they are also reviewing the use of hand sanitizers before elementary students enter cafeterias.
“One good thing about the media coverage is teaching—students take it more seriously,” Schwab said.
She said the best strategy is to remember that potential staph infections are always present in the environment.
If cuts or abrasions are cleaned and covered, “that is best thing to do, along with hand washing,” Schwab said.
