Howard has joined Anne Arundel with confirmed cases of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureas, but neither school system plans to postpone athletic events or shut down schools.
Wilde Lake High School had two confirmed cases of MRSA in the past week, said Lisa de Hernandez, spokeswoman for the Howard County Health Department.
“Staph bacteria are one of the most common causes of skin infections in the United States and most of these skin infections are minor and can be treated without antibiotics,” said health officials in a recent letter sent home to parents from school. “Some staph bacteria like MRSA, are resistant to some antibiotics.”
Howard County school system spokeswoman Patti Caplan said the cases would not affect the athletic seasons, but the school was responding by deep cleaning athletic areas.
“The health department will identify any additional precautions we need to take concerning cleaning and where kids are most apt to come into contact with staph,” Caplan said. “And that includes weight rooms and locker rooms.”
“There may be other students out there whohave an infection, but they don?t know they have it,” Caplan said. “So we?re encouraging anybody with a doubt to come forward.”
In some cases, the infection can lead to death, which happened recently in Virginia when a high school senior was diagnosed with a vicious strain of staph infection and died this week.
Anne Arundel schools reported one case of MRSA, said spokesman Bob Mosier. “At the moment, the county health department has not recommended canceling or postponing athletic events or closing schools,” Mosier said. There are 57 self-reported cases in Anne Arundel but they are not confirmed, health officials said.
Health officials said that one of the simplest strategies to avoid staph is wash your hands with soap and water for about 20 seconds.
“You need water, you need soap and you need to have friction,” said Donna Lemmert, an infection control coordinator at Baltimore Washington Medical Center. “Quality is everything.”
“It?s also recognizing the need to give proper attention to wounds and injuries,” said Dr. Richard Boehler, chief medical officer at St. Joseph Medical Center in Baltimore. “It?s not that football players and field hockey players are brushing up against each, but it?s coming into contact with open wounds.”
BY THE NUMBERS
School systems with confirmed cases of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureas:
» Howard: 2
» Anne Arundel: 1
» Harford: 0
» Carroll: Unavailable
» Baltimore County: 0
» Baltimore City: 0
Source: Region?s school systems
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