NEW CASTLE Building being disinfected because of staph infection

This is the second case of the infection in the county in the past six months.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Mohawk High School has started disinfecting the building after a pupil was diagnosed with a serious staph infection.
Schools Superintendent Timothy McNamee sent a letter home Tuesday with pupils informing their parents that a youth was diagnosed Monday with a methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus infection.
According to the letter, it is not known how the pupil contracted the infection. The boy was in school last week and is a member of the basketball team, the letter stated.
The school physician has met with the varsity basketball players and talked to athletes about MRSA and how it is transmitted, McNamee said.
Evening custodians are using contact and spray aerosol products to disinfect the locker rooms, specific areas of the gymnasium, equipment and other areas, he said. They will continue the process as long as needed.
The letter advised parents that the best method to control MRSA is through careful hand washing.
This is the second recent incidence of the MRSA infection in the county. Last October three inmates at the Lawrence County Jail were treated for the infection. In 2000, eight Thiel College football players were treated for the MRSA infections.
The disease, which often initially appears as a sore, blemish, boil or skin rash, is similar to other staph infections except that it is resistant to antibiotics commonly used to treat most staph.
It is contracted through direct contact with the hands of a person who is infected or carrying the organism.
Hospital treatment
When a case becomes prolonged, or is worsened because treatment has not been administered soon enough, the patient might need to be hospitalized, which is what occurred at the jail with two of the three inmates. The disease is more common in closed places such as jails, hospitals, nursing homes, locker rooms, gymnasiums and high school sports arenas, according to health officials.
cioffi@vindy.com