| By Bob Weaver
MRSA, a difficult and dangerous staph infection is re-surfacing in West Virginia schools.
Seven students with MRSA antibiotic-resistant staph infections have been reported in Berkeley, Boone and Logan county schools this week, while concerns about the disease have spread around the state.
Other cases were reported in the media yesterday.
The return of MRSA has caused some panic among parents, including a group of Wyoming County parents who attempted to stop a school bus.
Calhoun Superintendent of Schools Jane Lynch says "We have no confirmed cases of MRSA in Calhoun schools," although at least one Pleasant Hill Elementary School parent is claiming her seven-year-old daughter had the disease diagnosed last year at the end of the school year, with a return of the problem in recent days.
Superintendent Lynch says contact with the girl's physician did not confirm the child is suffering from MRSA.
The Herald has received numerous reports regarding the spread of MRSA among the student population in Calhoun and regional counties, but those reports could not be confirmed.
Physicians are responsible to report the infection to the Health Department.
Calhoun schools are advising students and staff to wash their hands frequently while the schools are being disinfected.
"We are going above and beyond the recommended precautions," said Lynch.
"The disease is out there and could turn up, but we're doing everything we know to keep it down," she said.
MRSA surfaced a few years ago in Roane County schools, affecting athletes and some adults.
In 2004, the Hur Herald quoted the director of infectious disease epidemiology for the Bureau of Public Health, saying West Virginia epidemiologists reported the infection for the first time in some correctional facilities, in two households in Marshall County and in a "close-knit social group in Calhoun County."
The Calhoun group was not identified.
Karen Kirby, principal at CM-HS said the school is also using a machine to spray disinfectant on floors and walls for a wash-down, including special efforts in the school's locker rooms, showers and rest rooms.
Lynch says parents should be vigilant, because early detection and treatment is important, indicting open wounds are dangerous in the spread of MRSA.
The MRSA staph bacteria does not respond to penicillin and related antibiotics, but it can be treated with other antibiotics and drugs. The infection can be spread by skin-to-skin contact or sharing an item used by an infected person, particularly one with an open wound.
State health officials reminded school officials of the serious nature of the problem, noting that it is a treatable disease.
Lynch said if any parent or community member has concerns or questions, call the school nurse Joyce Morgan at 354-6148.
See also Information for Parents and Schools on CA-MRSA
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