News of staph infection takes students, parents by surprise
6:14 p.m. Friday, September 14, 2007
"That's not good. Seriously? You're kidding."
Sterling Hudgins didn't believe it when I told him about a highly contagious bacteria spreading through his daughter's high school. He also can't believe school officials didn't tell him.
"I'm concerned that something like this that's so major is happening in a school with so many kids. Staph is pretty serious," Hudgins said.
His daughter Sharnee heard kids talking about it.
"In one of his classes the sore pretty much just popped and the pus went all over the place," MHS student Sharnee Hudgins said.
But she wasn't officially told about the problem until today.
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The School district didn't tell us about the staph infections. Neither did the health department. We learned about the problem from a 49 News viewer. If you've got a story for us to check out, call us at 785-215-8500 or email us at breakingnews@ktka.tv.
Staph is spread primarily through skin contact. Anyone with a cut or break in their skin is at risk. It can also spread through contaminated surfaces. Staph can infect blood and bones. In rare cases, it can be deadly. Some victims end up in the hospital, like football player Charles Melton.
When asked why his hand was bandaged, student Charles Melton said, "Because I got some sort of staph infection in my arm. It's spreading so I had to get surgery on it."
He will have to watch his football team from the sidelines for now.
"It's pretty nasty but you just gotta keep better hygiene."
His teammate Steve Andrus may have to sit out as well - that's up to his doctor.
"I'm kind of worried but really it's not that big of deal cause if you catch it early, like most of our team has, it's pretty easy to contain," student Steve Andrus said.
This is the letter given out by Manhattan High School administrators. Left-tap on it to enlarge.
Parents in the Manhattan-Ogden School District should have gotten a letter when their kids got home from school today. It explains that several students here at Manhattan High School have staph infections. It's contagious and spreading. But the school's known about it for two weeks now, so I asked the Superintendent why they waited to tell parents."
"Well initially, we thought it was isolated," USD 383 Superintendent Dr. Richard Shannon said. "And every time a student has an infection we don't send out a notice, but since it appears to be spreading, we think they need to know."
Now the school is working with the Riley County Health Department. They are asking students and parents to look for signs or symptoms of a staph infection and contact their family doctor immediately.
Learn More about Staph
General information
- Staphylococcus aureus (staph) is a germ that often lives in the noses and on the skin of healthy people and spreads from person to person on contaminated hands, skin, and objects.
- Most infections caused by staph are skin infections, but staph can also cause more serious infections such as blood and joint infections, and pneumonia
- Some staph called MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staph aureus) cannot be killed by certain antibiotics - called beta lactams - which are commonly used to treat staph.
What to do to Prevent Staph Skin Infections
- Keep your hands clean by washing well with soap and water or using an alcohol hand gel.
- Keep cuts and scrapes clean and covered with a bandage until healed.
- Avoid contact with other people's wounds or bandages.
- Avoid sharing personal items such as towels or razors.
What to do if You have a Staph Skin Infection
- Cover your wound. Keep wounds that are draining or have pus covered with clean, dry bandages. Bandages or tape can be thrown away with the regular trash.
- Wash your hands. This is especially important to do after changing the bandage or touching the infected wound.
- Do not share personal items.
- Talk to your doctor. Tell any healthcare providers who treat you that you have or had a staph skin infection.
More information is available from the Centers for Disease Control.
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