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For some, MRSA can be a mere nuisance, but for others it can be a fatal skin infection resistant to a host of antibiotics, and 12-year-old Omar Rivera of Brooklyn fell prey to an infection that killed him.
“It’s a tragedy that one of our students died of this infection,” New York City Department of Education Chancellor Joel Klein said. “It reminds us how important it is to wash our hands with soap and water, keep clean, and visit the doctor if we are at all concerned about our health.”
According to the New York City Health Department, MRSA (methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus) is a staph infection, which spreads mainly through skin to skin contact.
Within the last week there have been at least four MRSA infections in City schools, including one at St. Johns University, where officials notified the students Tuesday that a freshman was diagnosed with MRSA.
To address the adverse health effects of MRSA and help educate the media on the potential issues of exposure – as well as quell growing public concerns over the disease, New York Hospital Queens had scheduled a news briefing for Thursday at 10 a.m. at the hospital.
Although the infections are confined to public schools in Brooklyn and Manhattan, parents and the community are worried throughout the City. In published reports, a parent whose child attends PS 3 in Brooklyn said she was scared. At PS 3 a fifth grader contracted the skin infection and is currently being treated.
The City Health Department estimates in 2006 there were 600 laboratory-confirmed MRSA cases in children 5-18 in New York City.
The Centers for Disease Control estimated in 2005 94,360 people were infected with MRSA and approximately 18,650 people died during a hospital stay due to the disease.
Trying to allay the public’s fear of a MRSA outbreak the Health Department released a statement, which states in part, “The recent attention to MRSA has alarmed many NYC parents. The alarm is understandable, and the threat of antibiotic-resistant diseases is real. But the focus on schools is misplaced.” The Health Department explained that the majority of serious MRSA cases are found in healthcare facilities, such as hospitals, nursing homes and dialysis centers.
Schools that have had an infected student are also doing their part in informing the parents and students of infections and how MRSA can be prevented it.
Preventative measures that should be taken to limit a MRSA infection include washing hands with soap and water, not sharing towels and personal items, and keeping wounds covered.
PS 101 in Bensonhurst sent letters out to parents on Monday stating that a student was diagnosed last week. PS 48 in Washington Heights was cleaned and disinfected over the weekend. St. John’s sent out a campus wide e-mail addressing the MRSA infection.
In a statement St. Johns Media Relations Director Dominic Scianna acknowledged that the university was notified on Monday of the MRSA infection.
“The information received from the student’s physician states that the individual has been treated for the infection, is not contagious to others and is recovering,” Scianna said. “The individual remains under the care of a personal physician.”