Second School Closed After Staph Infection

Community Editor
A second Southfield school has been shut due to a report of MRSA, a staph infection resistant to commonly-prescribed medicine. Thompson Middle School was ordered closed at 11:30 a.m. Parents were alerted by telephone and students sent home for the day to allow a through building cleaning. "We are cleaning all 'common touch' area including stairway railings, doorknobs, lockers and the like," deputy Supt. Kenson Siver said, Students were also sent home with copies of a state of Michigan brochure detailing ways to avoid or minimize exposure to MRSA, Siver said. A parents reported that their child had been diagnosed with the infection.

"The child is being treated and is on the mend," Siver said.

School is expected to resume Friday. The student will be allowed to return to school pending a doctor's notification.

The MacArthur K-8 University Academy in Southfield was closed Oct. 25 after a similar report.

MRSA, or methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, is a type of bacteria which has proven resistant to commonly-prescribed antibiotics. In extreme cases, cause severe illness or death.

Even before the MacArhtur report, district previously established a policy for dealing with MRSA, Siver said.

MRSA and other types of staph infections can be spread through normal human contact. It is particularly dangerous, health officials said, because it can live on the skin for a prolonged period.

State health officials recommend frequent hand washing, keeping cuts, scrapes and other abrasions covered and washing clothes in hot soapy water as a way to stop its spread.

MRSA commonly crates swelling and redness similar to a spider bite and can also causes a rash, fever or headache.

Children and adults are also warned against sharing such personal items as towels, wash cloths and soap bars.

MRSA is known to be spread through contact in such high traffic areas as athletic locker rooms.