12-year-old NYC Boy Dies from Skin Infection

NEW YORK (AP) - School officials are urging parents to report any signs of antibiotic-resistant staph infections after a 12-year-old middle-school student apparently died of the "superbug."

But city health officials say there's "no reason to believe that other children or school employees are at increased risk."

The bacteria called MRSA has gained attention since a government report this month found more than 90,000 Americans get potentially deadly staph infections this year.

The bacteria doesn't respond to penicillin-related antibiotics -- partly because of overuse. It can be treated with other drugs.

The New York City Health Department says MRSA likely killed Omar Rivera - a 12-year-old student at Intermediate School 211 in Canarsie.

His friend, 13-year-old Andrew McKenzie, says Omar - who showed him sores on his legs and back two weeks ago. McKenzie says he sent his friend to the nurse, and never saw him again.

The disease has been blamed for the death of a 17-year-old Virginia high school senior this month. At least seven students on Long Island have recently been diagnosed with MRSA, as were 10 members of an athletic team at Iona College in New Rochelle.

	Letter From West Genesee Schools (470.3KB)
	Letter From APW Schools (397.4KB)

West Genesee (WSYR-TV) – Letters have been sent home to parents with children inside the APW and West Genesee school districts. Both school districts say they have a confirmed case of MRSA inside their schools.

West Genesee sent a letter home to parents Tuesday evening informing them of the case inside West Genesee Middle School. The district said the Onondaga County Health Department and the school physician was notified of the infection.

The APW School Superintendent, Deborah Haab, has also sent letters home, informing them about the case of MRSA confirmed in the school district. The letter says the student with the skin infection is receiving treatment, and has not returned to school. The case involves an elementary school student.

	Letter From Central Sqaure Schools (20.4KB)
	Letter From N. Syracuse Schools (950.0KB)

North Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - Three more school districts in Central New York are looking into cases of MRSA skin infections in their schools.

The Central Square School District has sent a letter home to parents, letting them know a student has a confirmed case of P.V. Moore High School.  The letter from Superintendent Carolyn F. Costello says the student has been cleared to return to school.

The superintendent of North Syracuse Schools sent a letter home with parents Friday explaining the two possible cases.

A notice on the school’s website says the possible case involving a staff member at Smith Road Elementary has tested negative.  There is also an unconfirmed case involving a student at Roxboro Road Elementary School.

The superintendent of the Liverpool School District tells us they also have two additional case of MRSA.  Each case is in a separate elementary school.

Both students have been treated and have been allowed to return to school.  Kids playing sports are being allowed to participate as long as they are being treated and any sores are covered.

East Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - Three local school districts have confirmed cases of the MRSA staph infection in their schools.

A total of four confirmed cases and one possible case have been found in the three districts.

Oswego City School District:

A letter has been sent home to parents in the Oswego School District, letting them know there is a confirmed case.

The letter from Superintendent David Fischer says that the student is a high schooler and has been cleared by a doctor to return to school.

The district says they contacted the county health department, and took all precautionary measures that were recommended.

East Syracuse School District:

The East Syracuse School District has two cases of MRSA according to the superintendent, one at its high school and one at its middle school.
 
Dismissal was delayed Thursday so students could receive a letter to bring home to their parents informing them of the cases.

Marcellus School District:

In the Marcellus School District, a letter from Superintendent Craig Trice was sent home to parents explaining there is one confirmed case and one possible case being investigated in the district.

A mother who received the letter shared the information with us, but we have not been able to confirm the information with the school district as of Thursday afternoon.

The letter says they are working to reduce the risk of additional infections, including, “installing alcohol-based hand sanitizers in the gym and nurse's office of all three buildings.”

	Video: Schools Cleaned After Three Cases Of MRSA 10/17/07
	Video: 3 Cases of Skin Infection at Nottingham 10/17/07

Letter to Parents (1.5MB)

Syracuse (WSYR-TV) – A swim meet went on as planned Wednesday night at Nottingham High School, the same day a letter went home to parents saying the district has three confirmed cases of the MRSA skin infection.

Dr. Rick Kulak, Medical Director for Syracuse City Schools, says the latest cases are located inside Nottingham High School. Parts of the school were being cleaned. A letter was being mailed home to the parents of students at the city high school. A district-wide letter was expected to be sent to families in the very near future.

Staph infections, like MRSA have been making headlines recently. A Virginia student died on Monday after catching a serious strain. Wednesday, 21 schools in Virginia were closed so classrooms, lockers, and desks can be thoroughly cleaned.

Two cases of MRSA were reported at Henninger High School earlier this month. The Liverpool school district also had two confirmed cases of the skin infection. The district sent home a letter last week, informing parents about the germ.

Dr. Kulak says this type of staph infection spreads after skin to skin contact.  Also, if someone has a staph infection and then touches a locker or a desk the infection can live on that surface for up to three days.

That makes MRSA very contagious in a school setting.  Kulak says the district is doing all it can to kill this strain of the infection before more students fall ill.

"Any infectious illness that has the potential to spread in the community, the nurses exclude them until they're released by their private physician."

Dr. Kulak hasn't found the source of the infection.  This particular strain in common in hospital and nursing home patients, along with athletes.  He's not sure if the three people infected are athletes. 

After Wednesday night's cleaning, he's hoping all the germs at Nottingham will be gone and classes will resume Thursday morning as planned.

A Nottingham swim meet went on as planned Thursday night. 

Dr. William Patrick, a dermatologist in Fayetteville, says athletes are more susceptible to staph infections because of contact.

"It's kids and people close together, skin contact occurs.  I mean I see what happens."
 
Dr. Patrick sees staph infections all the time.  His daughters also happen to be in Wednesday's swim meet.

Students playing contact sports are more susceptible to the infection.  Football players and wrestlers get more abrasions and cuts which are more prone to infection, including staph infections.

This information was provided by the Syracuse City School District:

Below are some common questions:

Staph is a type of bacteria.  It may cause skin infections that look like pimples or boils.  Skin infections caused by Staph may be red, swollen, painful, or have pus or other drainage.  Some Staph (MRSA) is resisten to certain antibiotics, making it harder to treat.  The information listed here applies to both Staph and MRSA:

Anyone can get a Staph infection.  People are more likely to get a Staph infection if they have:
-Skin-to-skin contact with someone who has a Staph infection.
-Contact with items and surfaces that have Staph on them.
-Openings in their skin such as cuts or scrapes.
-Crowded living conditions.
-Poor hygiene.

More Staph skin infectoins are minor and may be easily treated.  Staph also may cause more serious infections, such as infections of the bloodstream, surgical sites, or pneumonia.  Sometimes a Staph infection that starts as a skin infection may worsen.  It is important to contact your doctor if your infection does not get better.

Treatment for a Staph skin infection may include taking an antibiotic or having a doctor drain the infection.  If you are given an antibiotic, be sure to take all of the doses, even if the infection is getting better, unless your doctor tells you to stop taking it.  Do not share antibiotics with other people or save them to use later.

-Wash your hands often or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
-Keep your cuts and scrapes clean and cover them with bandages.
-Do not touch other people cuts or bandages.
-Do not share personal items like towels or razors.

If you have any questions about your condition, please ask your doctor.

For more information, please visit: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/ar_mrsa.html

Staph Infections

• one type resistant to standard antibiotics
• (MRSA, short for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus)
• could kill more Americans each year than AIDS
• (AIDS killed an estimated 17,011 Americans in 2005)
• more than 90,000 Americans sickened by it annually.
• 17-year-old Virginia high school senior died Monday
• doctors say infection spread to his kidneys, liver, lungs and muscles around his heart

Journal of the American Medical Association:

• 31.8 per 100,000 rate of invasion
• invades bloodstream or destroys flesh
• bacteria can be carried by healthy people
• lives on skin or in noses
• can be deadly when spreads inside the body
• MRSA has become more common in hospitals
• has been spreading through prisons, gyms, locker rooms, poor urban neighborhoods
• about one-quarter of invasive cases involved patients in hospitals
• more than half were related to health-care, occurring in people who had recently had surgery or were on kidney dialysis
• major methods of spreading through open wounds, exposure to contaminated medical equipment
• 988 reported deaths among infected people in the study, for a rate of 6.3 per 100,000
• study rate would translate to 18,650 deaths annually
• (researchers don't know if MRSA was the cause in all cases)

Prevention

• curbing overuse of antibiotics
• improving hand-washing and other hygiene procedures, especially among hospital workers
• some hospitals cut infections by isolating new patients until they are screened for MRSA

How One Local Hospital Deals with Staph Infections 10/16/07

Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - It is an infection that's spreading through schools nationwide, and right here in Central New York. It's called MRSA.

A high school student in Virginia has died from the antibiotic resistant staph infection and dozens of schools have been closed for cleaning to keep the illness from spreading.

Most of the time, staph cases are mild skin infections. However, a new study finds more than 90,000 Americans get a potentially deadly form of MRSA - mostly in healthcare settings.

At Crouse Hospital in Syracuse, they're taking a unique approach to protecting patients; they keep all the MRSA patients together.

Nurse Amylynne Recore works on the seventh floor of Crouse Hospital. She is responsible for some of the patients with MRSA. On any other floor at the hospital, Recore would have to wear a gown; however, all the patients on seven memorial have MRSA.

Dr. Shelly Gilroy, an Infectious Disease Specialist, says at the beginning, patients don't want to come to the unit. “Once they are here they love the care they get from the staff here, they love that they have freedom, can walk around and their family members don't have to gown and glove.”

Donna Ketchum has been in the unit twice since July. She likes the fact that when her husband Robert visits, he does not have to wear a gown. “It makes me feel better...you don't feel so isolated, or oh god, somebody’s come visit me and get sick.”
 
At any other hospital, a patient with MRSA would be confined to their room, but on seven memorial, they are free to walk the halls. They have also found they receive more attention from nurses, since the healthcare staff does not have to put gowns on each time they visit.

That extra attention has led to a decrease in the average stay of MRSA patients, and it's reduced the spread of the infection to other patients at the hospital. “When you have patients here who are pretty sick, on multiple antibiotics, or on chemotherapy, if they get this infection, and it gets into their bloodstream, its very difficult to treat,” says Gilroy.

MRSA is simple to prevent, whether it's in a hospital or in the community, the best defense is hand washing.

Doctors and nurses from other parts of Crouse Hospital do see patients in the MRSA unit and they always take full precautions to prevent the infection from spreading. 

Staph Infection Concerns; School Sends Letter to Parents 10/15/07

Liverpool (WSYR-TV) - An 11-year old youth hockey player from Rome continues his recovery at University Hospital, where he is suffering from a staph infection.  The child's case became so serious, he was reportedly put in a medically induced coma.

That's the same type of infection that caused the Liverpool School District to send home a letter about a skin infection showing up at the high school.  Two students tested positive for the strain, known as MRSA, or Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus.  The students are being treated, and no other cases have been reported.  Staph infections are common in hospital and nursing home patients, and athletes. 

Scott Hinman knows all about the bacteria that can stink up sporting equipment.

"That's an elbow pad under a microscope.  That's what it looks like.  What is that?  It is black mold," says Hinman.

Mold, bacteria, and fungus.  Hinman says if it's rubbing up against your skin, it can cause a staph infection in your body.

"With any equipment, it's more likely to grow in areas that are hidden."

As the owner of Syracuse Clean Gear, Scott says parents often don't realize how important it is to wash and clean their child's sports gear, or have it cleaned by someone else.

“If you're a runner, would you take off what you just wore and sweated in, hang it up and let it air dry and then throw it back on?  People would never do that."

His store in Cicero cleans sporting equipment in a three-hour, four-step process.  An infectious disease doctor at University Hospital says cleaning is the only way to get rid of bacteria.

“Have your own personal equipment,” recommends Dr. Shelley Gilroy, who specializes in infectious diseases.

"Then after involved in practice or in a game, come home and shower with antibacterial soap and change your clothes and wash your clothing."

Dr. Gilroy says the same goes for the gear.  Clean it after every use with water and bleach solution, or run the risk of infecting yourself with bacteria belonging to someone else.   She also recommends hand washing.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, MRSA usually spreads after skin to skin contact, but it can be shared from object to person since it lives on surfaces for up to three days.  To prevent the spread of a staph infection, the CDC recommends keeping cuts and scrapes clean and covered with bandages, and not sharing items like clothing, shoes, razors and towels.