Blackriver.k12.oh.us

Below are common question asked about MRSA virus. It will take everyone to combat
this hideous virus, so please join us in being proactive by understanding what we are
up against. – Thank you!
Q: What is MRSA?
A: MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is a type of “staph” bacterial
infection that is resistant to usual antibiotics.
Q: How dangerous is it?
A: MRSA infections can range from mild skin infections to more severe infections of the
bloodstream, lungs & surgical wounds.
A report released by the U.S Centers for Disease Control & Prevention last month found that
MRSA caused more than 94,000 life-threatening infections and 18,650 deaths in the United States in 2005. Attention to the disease has increased since the deaths of a 17-year old in Virginia and a 12-year old in Brooklyn, N.Y., were blamed on MRSA infections.
Q: Who’s at risk?
A: Most cases (about 85%) occur during hospital stays. Rates of infection are highest
among people 65 or older. African-Americans are affected at twice the rate of whites.
Besides hospital patients and nursing-home residents, athletes are at high risk because of
skin-to-skin contact in games and practices.

Q: How is MRSA transmitted?
A: It can be spread through skin-to-skin contact with someone who carries the bacteria or
has an active infection. It also can be spread indirectly through shared items, such as
towels, razors, clothing or athletic equipment. MRSA is not spread by coughing or
sneezing.

Q: When should I be concerned that a skin lesion is MRSA?
A: If a pimple-like lesion, boil, infected hair follicle or suspected insect bite progresses to a
painful, swollen, reddened area, contact your doctor.

Q: Should schools close if a student or staff member is diagnosed with MRSA?
A: No, according to the Ohio Department of Health. Closing schools has not been found to
reduce the spread of MRSA from one person to another.

Q: What should schools do?
A: Hand-washing is the most effective method of infection control for MRSA, as well as for
the common cold and influenza, the state health department says. Schools should allow
time for frequent and thorough hand-washing by students and staff members. Waterless hand sanitizers can be used as an alternative if soap and water are not available. Other suggestions by the state for schools: Students with MRSA infections should not be excluded from attending school unless the wound cannot be covered and contained with a clean, dry bandage. Students or staff members who have severely compromised immune systems should not
share a classroom with a person who has an active MRSA infection.
Students with open wounds should not use whirlpools, hydro-therapy pools, cold tubs,
swimming pools and other common tubs.
Routine cleaning of classrooms and common areas helps to prevent the spread of all potential infections, including MRSA. Special attention should be given to surfaces and equipment that students and staff members touch with their hands, such as light switches, door handles, desks, tables and keyboards. If contamination of a surface with MRSA
bacteria has occurred, clean the area using household bleach diluted 1:100 with water.
Q: How is MRSA treated?
A: Although MRSA is resistant to some antibiotics - including methicillin, oxacillin,
penicillin and amoxicillin - it can be treated with antibiotics.
If given an antibiotic, you should take all the doses - even if the infection is getting better -
unless your doctor tells you to stop taking it.
However, many staph skin infections may be treated by draining the abscess and may not
require antibiotics.
11.8.07
Dear Community, In our effort to be proactive against the methicil in-resistant staphylococcus aureus ( MRSA ) virus we need your help. Besides our usual daily cleaning regiment of disinfecting with bleach we want to step up our cleaning of the locker rooms in the district to combat the MRSA virus. Every Friday we are requesting al students clean out their physical education lockers and athletic lockers both in the high school and the field house. Students need to take their clothing and other items home to be washed (Students are not to put their athletic items in their academic lockers for the weekend. They must take their athletic items home and have them cleaned over the weekend.) Anything left in the physical education lockers or the field house lockers wil be thrown away. Locks also need to be removed from the athletic lockers in order for the cleaning staff to be able to clean the athletic lockers. Locks left on lockers wil be cut off. Every Friday evening our cleaning staff wil be using Medaphene Plus and bleach in each individual athletic locker located in the high school and the field house on top of our regular cleaning routine. The district wil not be financial y or physical y responsible for items left in athletic lockers nor any locks that have to be cut
off. We are doing this for the safety of our students.
The locker rooms at the Black River Education Center are
currently out of commission. We are requesting students in the
middle take any athletic clothing they may have in their
academic lockers home to be cleaned school at least once a
week (more often would be preferred).
We want to thank you in advance for your cooperation in
helping us prevent the MRSA virus.
Janice Wyckoff, Sup't

Source: http://www.blackriver.k12.oh.us/pdf/MRSA.pdf