A virulent strain of staph infection spread further into Montgomery County’s Public Schools this week with officials reporting five more cases Monday, bringing the total to 19.
Four of the new cases were reported at Poolesville, Seneca Valley, Rockville and Watkins Mill high schools. Another case was reported at Greenwood Elementary, bringing the number of children affected among the county’s primary schools up to four.
Brian Edwards, chief of staff for Superintendent Jerry D. Weast, would not say whether any of the cases reported Monday required hospitalization.
Of the 19 cases, all of which have been self-reported, eight of the students had active infections as of Monday, Edwards said. Those students attend Poolesville, Whitman, Watkins Mill, Seneca Valley and Springbrook high schools and Greenwood, Candlewood and Laytonsville elementaries.
Edwards did not say whether those students are attending classes.
“I think everyone’s on edge,” Montgomery County Board of Education member Pat O’Neill said Monday.
O’Neill, whose daughter attends Whitman, where an infection was reported last week, said heightened awareness among parents might not have reached children.
“Rumors are rampant,” O’Neill said. “I think [high school students] are very concerned.”
Incidences of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection have been increasing at schools across the country in recent weeks, with outbreaks reported in Northern Virginia and Anne Arundel counties.
Prince George’s Public Schools have been able to evade the infection so far, with no cases reported, spokesman John White said Monday.
The infection took on new proportions last week after a Virginia high school senior died after having been hospitalized for a week, prompting more fear of the infection, which is most prevalent in hospital and gym settings.
School officials have upgraded disinfectants and are scrubbing common areas daily. County health officials weighed in last week, urging residents to pay closer attention to personal hygiene and to cover any cuts.
