MRSA Infections Confirmed For 2 Students At Rocky Point High School On Long Island
YAPHANK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Two students in the Rocky Point Union Free School District on Long Island have now contracted dangerous MRSA infections, the school district announced Monday.
School District Superintendent Michael F. Ring announced Friday that one case of the drug-resistant bacterial infection – formally known as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus – had been confirmed at Rocky Point High School in Yaphank.
In a new announcement released to parents Sunday, Ring said a second case had been confirmed at the school.
MRSA Infections Confirmed For 2 Students At Rocky Point High School On Long Island
Ring said he could not release details about the students involved due to privacy laws, but he said the cases appeared to be isolated, and connected to two players who practice together regularly on one school sports team.
"Understandably, this situation is a concern to all of us; however, please be assured that the district continues to act in a vigilant and proactive manner to maximize our ability to help contain the spread of MRSA," Ring wrote. "In addition to our regular cleaning and disinfecting protocol, we have undertaken supplemental and extensive disinfecting measures."
MRSA is spread primarily by skin-to-skin contact or with direct contact to wound drainage of an infected person, Ring pointed out. Anyone with an open break in his or her skin could be at risk.
MRSA may also be transmitted less frequently through contact with contaminated surfaces or items, the district said. The infection is not spread by air.
Parents were advised to take their children for a test if a staph infection is suspected. Symptoms may include a large red area on the skin along with swelling and pain, followed by a pustule, an abscess, or boils and carbuncles.
MRSA is treatable with broad-spectrum antibiotics, but may cause severe illness or hospitalization if untreated.
Students and their family members are advised to wash hands frequently with soap and hot water and to encourage others to do so. Cuts and scrapes should be kept bandaged, and contact with other people's wounds should not be avoided. Razors, towels, deodorant and soap should not be shared.
More information about MRSA is available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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