Area schools guarding against staph infections

School districts are taking precautions to prevent the spread of staph infections, especially an antibiotic-resistant form, following locally reported cases. In Jackson, one woman died earlier this month from complications due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA.

Four schools in Cape Girardeau -- Central High School, Blanchard Elementary, Alma Schrader Elementary and Franklin Elementary -- reported at least one case of a staph infection this school year. In Jackson, the high school reported two cases last month, according to the school's principal.

Because schools are not required to report data related to staph infections, Jackson assistant superintendent Jim Welker said he did not have an exact number of students or buildings affected. Neither Cape Girardeau nor Jackon schools could say how the data compares to previous years.

Welker was unsure whether any of the cases were of the MRSA strain. "We are treating them as if they are, but I don't know if they were cultured or if they have gotten the test results back," he said.

Deena Ring, director of special service for the Cape Gir?ardeau School District, said some of the cases involved MRSA.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released figures this month estimating more than 94,000 people developed an invasive MRSA infection in 2005. The study is the most thorough of its kind, meaning it can't be directly compared to studies of previous years, its authors said.

Staph infections, which most often develop on cuts or abrasions, typically affect the elderly in nursing homes or hospitals.

Schools, however, are reporting cases among children. The issue of staph infections generated media attention recently when the germ killed students in Virginia and New York. Earlier this week, a Pikeville, Ky., school district closed all 23 of its schools to sanitize facilities after a case of MRSA was confirmed.

"Years ago, MRSA was only seen in the hospital. Recently it has emerged in the community," said Saint Francis Medical Center infection control coordinator Gayla Tripp. Tripp said she has noticed an increase in the number of cases being managed by physicians rather than in hospitals.

Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago announced plans this week to universally screen all of its patients for MRSA, but Tripp said Saint Francis has no immediate plans to do the same.

About 25 percent of people have staph germs on them that have not developed into an active infection, Tripp said. "You may be putting people on antibiotics when it's not necessary," she said. The overuse of antibiotics is a contributing factor to the methicillin-resistant form of staph infections, she said.

MRSA appears as a skin infection that looks red, swollen, or has pus. It often forms around cuts or abrasions and can be treated by draining the pus or with antibiotics.

The infection can lead to death if untreated or in extreme cases when pneumonia or bloodstream infections set in.

Staph germs are passed by close personal contact and in schools are typically found among athletes who may share a towel or athletic equipment.

Dr. David Scala, superintendent of Cape Girardeau schools, said the unusually hot weather this year may have led to increased perspiration and increased problems in locker rooms.

Besides typical daily cleaning, every Friday, Central High School students are required to empty their gym lockers for sanitization. Hand sanitizer dispensers were placed in all classrooms and in the cafeteria, and students are reminded to wash their hands frequently, according to principal Dr. Mike Cowan.

In both Cape Girardeau and Jackson, a letter was sent home to parents to inform them of ways to prevent staph infections.

"We are using disinfectant in our facilities sometimes as much as two to three times a day," Jackson High School principal Rick McClard said.

In 2005, 4-year-old Ethan Patrick Williams of Perry County died from the complications due to a staph infection. On Oct. 10, a Jackson woman, Patricia Huffman, died in St. Louis due to MRSA from an unknown origin. Huffman's sister, Jennifer Tapley, said she thinks the infection set in on a brown-recluse spider bite Huffman suffered over the summer.

lbavolek@semissourian.com

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