'Super bug' Case At Perry High

The Arizona Republic
Oct. 31, 2007

School officials alerted parents this week that a Perry High employee had been diagnosed with an antibiotic-resistant skin infection: methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, better known as MRSA.

Officials with the Chandler Unified School District also said a Basha Elementary student was diagnosed with MRSA.

"Although there has been a heightened awareness about MRSA over the last week, the staph infection has been around for decades and is very treatable when detected early," Perry Principal Dan Serrano and Basha Principal Keith Falconer wrote in the Oct. 30 letter to parents.

The infections are commonly called MRSA and do not respond to treatment with common antibiotics. Typically, the more severe form is contracted by people who stayed in hospitals, long-term-care homes and other medical facilities.

In Arizona, 3,802 people have contracted the severe form of MRSA since 2005. State and federal health officials don't track MRSA-related deaths by region.

The research was done by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and released this month in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Perry High is located at Val Vista and Queen Creek in Gilbert but is part of the Chandler Unified School District. Basha Elementary is in south-central Chandler.

In the letters, the principals wrote that both the employee and student "have been cleared by a doctor to return to school."

Officials are taking extra precautions, such as using a cleaning agent that kills staph germs in restrooms and cafeterias.

The skin condition can look like an infected pimple or spider bite and can worsen with swelling, redness or discharge. Close skin-to-skin contact, such as that which occurs in contact sports, spreads the bacteria.

School districts are making efforts to educate faculty and students on preventing and detecting MRSA infections.

Good hygiene is the best defense against MRSA and all staph infections.

The principals suggested the following: wash hands with soap and water or alcohol-based sanitizer; keep cuts bandaged until healed; avoid contact with other people's wounds; wipe exercise equipment; and avoid sharing personal items such as towels and razors.