Topic: Clarksville Mongtomery County School System

Schools respond to growing number of “superbug” infections among students

By Christine Anne Piesyk | October 28, 2007 |

With the release of information that three students in three Clarksville-Montgomery Schools have contracted MRSA, a “superbug” staph infection resistant to traditional antibiotics, one might ask why the school system has chosen not to disinfect city schools, or at least the ones attended by the students involved?

On Friday it was reported that three students in three CMCSS schools — Northeast Middle, Cumberland Elementary and New providence Elementary — in three distinct sections of the community had developed MRSA infections. It has not been disclosed where or how the individual students contracted MRSA in such geographically separate districts and because of the link to hygiene the source could be “anywhere,” officials indicated.

MRSA [Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus] is a type of bacteria that is resistant to certain antibiotics including methicillin, oxacillin, penicillin and amoxicillin, which can make it difficult to treat. Its symptoms include red pimple-like pustules that may ooze pus. MRSA can only be verified through laboratory tests; keeping the infection site clean and covered until the infected area heals, and vigilance in personal and environmental hygiene is essential in preventing further spread of MRSA. «Read the rest of this article»

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