After a third case of a dangerous staph infection was confirmed at Desert View High School this week, district officials spent Friday encouraging anxious parents not to keep their children out of school because of fear.
Monique Soria, Sunnyside Unified School District spokeswoman, said students — who were out of school Friday because it was a grading day — should come back to school Monday despite the latest confirmation of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, commonly called MRSA.
"MRSA is all over. It's worldwide," Soria said. "It could be on your skin right now, or my skin right now. Unless your child isn't well, you shouldn't keep your kids out of school out of fear."
Soria said the school is taking aggressive action to make sure the facilities are clean. About 85 custodians spent Friday disinfecting lockers, gyms, desks and buses — a tenfold increase from typical janitorial staffing levels.
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The first case was confirmed at Desert View, 4101 E. Valencia Road, at the end of September. The second came the first week of this month. The last was confirmed Tuesday.
The cases appear unrelated, although health officials are still trying to determine if there are any links, such as whether the students might have visited the same areas in the school.
Pima County Health Department officials said it isn't necessarily unusual to have three active cases in a school with 2,200 students, given that 1 percent of the population can carry MRSA at any time.
"This is not something that's limited to a school," said Dr. Michelle McDonald, the department's chief medical officer. "You could sit on a pew in church or handle a shopping cart and come in contact with it."
Often misdiagnosed as a spider bite, a staph wound frequently starts out as a pimple, rash, boil or an open wound. It commonly appears in areas covered by hair, such as the back of neck, the groin or armpits. Often, staph wounds are no worse than stubborn skin infections, but in some cases, if not successfully treated, the bacteria can get into the bloodstream, invading vital organs and bones.
Desert View freshman Gonzalo Buelna said he felt some anxiety about MRSA and how easily it can be contracted, but he believes the district is taking the necessary precautions.
"I'm not worried, because they are cleaning the whole school and the buses," he said.
Buelna, 14, takes his own safeguards to avoid becoming ill, including washing his hands often. He also said teachers keep disinfectant wipes in class to wipe down desks — the district provided Desert View teachers with their own disinfectant sprays for classrooms.
"They are doing a good job of taking care of it," he said.
It's hard to say how common MRSA infections are, because the state requires the reporting of only invasive infections — when the bacteria reach normally sterile areas such as the lungs or urinary tract, for example. There have been more than 1,000 such cases in Pima County so far this year, according to state Health Department records.
Desert View's cases are not at that level, McDonald said, and the students with the infections need not be excluded from school if they are being actively treated and their wounds are covered.
Sunnyside is not the only district to grapple with the infection — just the latest. The Flowing Wells, Marana, Tucson Unified and Vail school districts all have reported cases in the past year.
What is clear, McDonald said, is that MRSA is part of the landscape. "It's like West Nile virus. It's now in our environment, and it's not going away.
"Talk to your children or your teens," she said. "You should generally acknowledge that there are certain risks in our environment that they need to be aware of and respond to, whether that's buckling their seat belt in an automobile or frequently washing their hands."
Health officials say that the single best precaution is to wash your hands with soap and water regularly — and particularly if there is skin-to-skin contact, such as during a wrestling match.
Wounds should be covered and treated, because it's easier for the infection to gain entry into the system through open sores or abrasions.
Don't share personal items, such as towels or razors. Don't touch anyone else's open wounds.
And, McDonald said, a 10 percent bleach solution is the best way to disinfect contaminated surfaces.
what is risk? preventive tips
Five things that put you at risk of MRSA:
1. Skin-to-skin contact with someone who is infected.
2. Contact with items and surfaces that have MRSA on them.
3. Openings in the skin, such as cuts or scrapes.
4. Crowded conditions.
5. Poor hygiene.
Four things you can do to prevent MRSA infection:
1. Wash your hands often or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
2. Keep cuts and scrapes clean and covered with bandages.
3. Don't touch other people's cuts or bandages.
4. Don't share personal items.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Find more information at Web site of Department of Health Services
For more information on MRSA, check out the state Department of Health Services Web site at: www.azdhs.gov/phs/oids/epi/disease/mrsa/mrsa_g.htm
