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Schools Fend Off 'Superbug'

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By SHERRI ACKERMAN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 24, 2007

TAMPA - Hillsborough County school officials are sending letters home with students alerting parents about a common skin infection that has received some uncommon attention recently.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, known as MRSA, has been described as a deadly 'superbug' resistant to drugs and the culprit behind nearly 19,000 deaths in hospitals and nursing homes across the nation.

The figures come from a report published last week by The Journal of the American Medical Association that tracked patients at hospitals and nursing homes.

The information became public the same week a high school senior in Virginia died from MRSA, prompting widespread concern among parents, students and others about the bacteria.
Hillsborough schools have reported a handful of MRSA cases since classes started, including one at Durant High School, but none has been serious enough to put the school district - or Hillsborough County - in crisis mode, state health officials said.

MRSA has been around for years, said Roger Sanderson, an epidemiologist with the Florida Department of Health in Tallahassee.

'People out in the community get treated and it's over with,' he said.

The infection can lead to death depending on the health of the individual, location of the infection and length of time taken to treat it. Most of the time, though, the symptoms are relatively mild, particularly if the individual is otherwise healthy.

The school district letter describes the staph bacteria and its symptoms and gives parents and students guidelines on how to identify the virus. Some of the letters went out Tuesday, and the rest should go out today, district officials said.

One common symptom is the appearance of pimples or boils that may be red, swollen, painful and have pus or drainage coming from them, the letter says.

People can avoid staph infections by washing their hands often or using alcohol-based sanitizers, keeping wounds clean and covered, and not sharing personal items such as towels or razors.

School nurses can help identify the infection, but it needs to be diagnosed and treated by a doctor, health officials said. Though MRSA has developed a resistance to some medications, there are antibiotics that successfully treat MRSA, some for as little as $4 a prescription, Sanderson said.

For information, call your doctor, the school district at (913) 273-7020 or the county health department at (813) 307-8010, or visit www.cdc.gov.

Researcher Melanie Coon contributed to this report. Reporter Sherri Ackerman can be reached at (813) 259-7144 or sackerman@tampatrib.com.

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