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New MRSA Cases Reported In Schools
By Greg L | 24 October 2007 | Manassas City, Prince William County | 30 Comments
While the Manassas Urinal-Massager is covering the new cases of MRSA reported in the Prince William County School System, they’re not reporting on the two new cases reported at Osbourn High School in Manassas. As usual, you get your news here first, if at all.
Here’s the new data from Prince William County:
Three new cases - all students - were confirmed at Glenkirk Elementary School, Saunders Middle School and Rippon Middle School, the school district announced Tuesday.
Keep an eye on your children, make sure they wash their hands and don’t share clothing, and talk to them about what’s going on so they can act appropriately. Vigilance will eventually resolve this, not panic.
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I got the news in an automated phone call from the school system this evening.
I received an automated call from Hylton HS stating they now have a confirmed case also.
Sounds like they have a “typhoid Mary” on their hands.
Shouldn’t they be thinking about closing schools down and disinfecting somehow?
All Saints School in Manassas also had a case. The parents were notified on Monday, but this has not made the media either. The school is taking steps, but the classrooms are still being used at night for ESL classes. The principal has not been clear about whether the classrooms actually get cleaned before or after the “extracurricular” uses of the rooms at night.
Michael Savage, a PhD in epidiology from Berkeley, believes this is related to illegal immigration from Mexico and Central America. It is something to consider.
correction: that’s epidimiology.
My wife just brought my daughter home from the nurse’s office at Osbourne High School. My daughter was sitting in the same room with two kids that were there for suspected staph infections. These two kids were waiting for a doctor to show up and either confirm or deny the infections. Shouldn’t these kids have been in a different area away from the other students in the nurse’s office?
jfk1 said 24 Oct 2007 at 9:38 am:
Every classroom in the school used to be cleaned (vacuumed and in some classrooms, wet mopped daily. That was the norm 10 years or so ago but they will have to address whether or not that is being done today. Classrooms are utilized after hours by other activities/groups. Maybe that ought to be put on hold until this outbreak runs it’s course?
jfk1,
I gather you are a parent of a student at All Saints. My kids attend All Saints and I received notice via e-mail about the situation on Sunday. I am concerned about the evening use of the calssrooms as well. Unless they have changed the timing of the cleaning crew I doubt that all the classes are cleaned after evening use. My daughter has complained that her class is re-arranged and dirty/sticky after it has been used for CCD and other evening activities.
“The school is taking steps, but the classrooms are still being used at night for ESL classes. The principal has not been clear about whether the classrooms actually get cleaned before or after the “extracurricular” uses of the rooms at night.”
This begs the question…do the other schools where the infection has occurred also have ESL classes at night and are they cleaned before those classes rather than after? Before someone jumps in here and calls me racist, I believe it’s a valid question, particularly if that might be the only thing that the schools in question have in common.
Monticup:
Michael Savage (born Michael Alan Weiner) does not have a PhD in epidimiology. His PhD is in nutritional ethnomedicine. Under his given name, he has written a number of books on herbal medicine and homeopathic remedies (including one where he advocates the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes). So please, stop using him as a sound source for the epidimiology of MRSA.
Based on more sound science (from the CDC and NIH), the strain of MRSA we’re seeing now is a mutation known as USA-300. It’s roots are in MRSA variants found in health care facilities, not in the illegal alien population. The more likely source of this infection is someone who has recently spent time in a hospital or health care facility. Once the infection is in the general public, it has more chance to spread. Schools are a likely breeding ground simple because there are a lot of good hosts and (as has been mentioned) kids aren’t the cleanest little things. The good news in all of this is that this variant seems to have a lower mortality rate and tends to stay localized in the body (i.e., it takes time for the infection to spread beyond the initial colony).
We had an Advisory Council meeting at my daughter’s school last night and the question of what is being done to prevent additional outbreaks came up. PWCS staff have been given instructions to remind students about proper hygiene and provide plenty of opportunities for hand washing, etc. Additionally, they’ve been instructed on what to look for to identify potential staph infections. Anything even remotely suspicious is to be checked by the school nurse. Janitorial staff have been given additional instruction on what needs to be done when cleaning the school.
In my estimation, Prince William County Schools are really trying to get ahead of this and are doing everything they can. They are genuinely concerned about this.
Correction: epidemiology not epidimiology
Maybe monticup is right after all…Savage may very well have a PhD in epidimiology (whatever that might be), but Savage is certainly no epidemiologist.
Not to be picky, but it’s Osbourn High School.
[Ed note: thanks.]
TPWB AND ALL,
My daughter said last Thursday detailed instructions and information of MERSA in PE class. I’m thankful this also being addressed at the classroom level with student.
sellout_of_America,
Yes, this is about Osbourn High School. However, we need to be concerned with all three school jurisdictions they all compete in sporting events with one another. What has the City of Manassas come out and said publicly? What do they have on their website about MERSA?
I find it very hard to believe Manassas Park is MRSA cases?
My daughter was at Manassas Park High last week to run in a track meet.
Stonewall Middle now has ONE CONFIRMED case of MRSA!! I’ve just checked the PWCPS website, and this is not on their list of infected schools yet. They must keep their website UPDATED.
My daughter just came home with the letter!!
Turn PW Blue on 24 Oct 2007 at 1:33 pm:
He is also one the country’s leading talk show hosts.
Turn PW Blue on 24 Oct 2007 at 1:33 pm:
You forgot PW hospital emergency room!
Spoke to PWCPS, and their website will be updated later tonight. SMS, is the only new case in PWC today. I also, thanked them for getting the letter to the parents last week, and for this infection be explained in PE classes on the very next day.
I still say it’s hard believe NO cases in Manassas Park.(corr also for comments @ 3:05
Does anyone know if MP schools have been proactive in the prevention/spread of staph infections?
PW Blue: That’s exactly what I mean–poor hygiene, crowded living conditions, public urination and spitting, etc. Thanks for the spell-check, by the way.
According to Wikipedia, Michael Savage “holds master’s degrees in medical botany and medical anthropology and earned a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, in nutritional ethnomedicine.” The masters in medical anthropology should be enough to qualify his considered opinion concerning MRSA.
Illegal aliens that I have seen have very poor hygiene habits, and antibiotics are available without a prescription in Mexico and central America which would exacerbate the problem. Where ever it is coming from, something needs to be done and soon.
Although, I must say, one does not need an advanced degree to figure out that people coming here freely from third world countries are going to be carrying diseases that we would not ordinarily see.
The common denominator would be lack of common sense.
Blame our our own government, local,state, national. They are still being paid for what? I don’t see them acting in the best interest of this country period…on ALL things considered.
I would recommend that all institutions that hold ESL classes (churches, schools, etc.) be contacted to have tables/chairs and anything else thoroughly cleaned immediately following such classes.
PWC Fire Departments rec’d notice of 25 confirmed cases in Dale City alone! Take pre-cautions!
Decent WebMD article about MRSA…
http://www.webmd.com/news/20071024/mrsa-experts-answer-your-questions
Manassas Park doesn’t have a lot of things (illegal aliens, overcrowded houses and MRSA.)
Turn PW Blue,
Your contribution to this MRSA “railroading” discussion is invaluable. I hope it counters bizarre fear based unsubsantiated remarks.
mphs also has had 3 cases reported, but not to the parents.
and another boy today said he had it cut out of his upper arm by a doctor over the weekend and was in my sons class today with a bandage on, it will keep spreading if schools do not disinfect and tell the parents so they can act appropriately.