| By Bob Weaver
There was 101 cases of community-strain MRSA cases reported in 2007 in the six-county region covered by the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department, according to Tim Wickam, regional epidemiologist.
Cases reported in 2007 by physicians, Calhoun, 21; Roane, 62; Wirt, 11; Ritchie, 3; Wood, 4 and Pleasants, 0.
Health officials have not been overly concerned about MRSA, since it is a treatable disease, indicating there is no major outbreak. The disease has been in the region for some time now.
Still, it is a disease that produces a number of serious symptoms, and requires immediate attention.
Wickam said all the regional cases are community-strain MRSA, not the serious hospital-based MRSA.
Physicians are not required to report MRSA, nor are school officials notified by the health department about regional cases.
There could have been a number of other cases in the region, not reported.
A large number of the regional cases affecting students appeared to have been contacted in school locker rooms.
Most West Virginia schools took a pro-active stance against the disease this past year with numerous disinfecting procedures and prevention efforts.
Calhoun superintendent of schools Jane Lynch said "not to my knowledge" is there reporting to school officials from the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department regarding MRSA cases.
Lynch said "I became aware of two students diagnosed with MRSA (tested) after they were treated a month ago."
She said, "Our school nurse is leading efforts in county schools, using WV Public Health Department guidance and protocols," to keep the risk down.
Calhoun principal Karen Kirby said significant efforts using a disinfecting machine with a number of recommended prevention protocols have been used at Calhoun Middle-High School and the county's two elementary schools.
Health officials in New Lexington Ohio reported in December that fourteen-year-old Tyler Michael Burdock died from a MRSA staph infection resistant to antibiotics.
During 2007, because of wide-spread media attention about the MRSA problem, virtually all West Virginia school systems took aggressive action to keep the problem at bay.
Perhaps the most frustrated are some parents of children with MRSA, who perceived public health officials or the schools have not been paying much attention to an illness that created a serious problem for them.
Numerous e-mails received by the Herald indicated the problem has been minimized by officials, when the public should have been more aware of the disease.
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