Fairhaven School reports MRSA infection

By Tim Yovich

Infection of MRSA results in a skin rash with open sores, the superintendent of Fairhaven said.

NILES — A toddler and probably a second child, both pupils at Fairhaven School operated by the Trumbull County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, have become infected with MRSA, a staph infection.

Agency Superintendent Dr. Douglas Burkhardt said Tuesday that a boy had been identified earlier in the day by the Niles Health Department as probably being infected with methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus.

On Monday, Burkhardt said a girl had by March 26 contracted the infection. Both the boy and girl are under age 3, he noted, and aren’t potty-trained.

According to the Mayo Clinic’s Web site, staph bacteria are normally found on the skin or in the nose of about a third of the population. It’s possible to have the staph on the skin or in the nose but not be infected with MRSA.

Staph bacteria, the Web site says, are generally harmless unless they enter the body through a cut or other wound, and even then they often cause only minor skin problems in healthy people.

In older people who are ill or have weakened immune systems, staph infections can cause serious illness, according to the Mayo Clinic.

“We don’t believe they got it at school,” Burkhardt said. “We believe it’s under control.”

He said the infection results in a skin rash and open sores on the skin. A culture of the girl’s infection by the Niles Health Department was positive for MRSA. The results of the boy’s culture are not complete.

Burkhardt explained that the boy contracted the infection from his brother, who was previously infected. The girl, he said, didn’t contract it at Fairhaven because of the precautions taken with those not potty-trained.

He said plastic separates them from a hard surface and the staff wears rubber gloves when diapers are changed.

After the girl was diagnosed as having MRSA, Burkhardt said, letters were sent home to the parents. The alert resulted in the second case’s being identified.

The classrooms of the two have been disinfected and the carpeting has been scrubbed with a disinfectant, he pointed out.

Fairhaven serves about 1,100 youths and adults living in Trumbull County.

yovich@vindy.com