Community High School District 155

District custodians are disinfecting all commonly used surfaces with a hospital-grade disinfectant each day. Additionally school nurses are watching closely for any signs of student infections.

Even with these preventative measures, we wanted to share information about staph and skin infections with you so that you can take necessary precautions for your family. Please share this information with your children, and should anyone in your family exhibit staph-related symptoms, please contact your doctor for treatment options.

What is MRSA?
Staphylococcus aureus   (Staf-lo-coc-cus aw-ree-us), or "staph," is a bacterium commonly carried in the nose and on the skin of healthy people. It is estimated that 30 percent of the population carries staph on the skin or in the nose. Methicillin or penicillin and cephalosporins are generally used to treat staph infections. About 1 percent of persons have a type of staph resistant to these antibiotics called methicillin-resistant staph aureus, or MRSA. Other antibiotics must be used to treat MRSA infections. Staph may cause skin infections that look like pimples, boils, or spider bites. Skin infections caused by staph may be red, swollen, painful, or have pus or other drainage. If left untreated, staph can cause severe illness.

Who can get staph?
Everyone is susceptible to staph infections. Staph typically enters a body through a cut or break in skin. Of note, school-aged athletes are particularly at risk. People are more likely to get a staph infection if they have:

• Close skin-to-skin contact with someone who has a staph infection.
• Contact with items and surfaces contaminated with staph.
• Openings in the skin such as cuts or scrapes that are not covered by a bandage.

How can I prevent staph?
Students and family members should take the following precautions suggested by the McHenry County Department of Health:

• Keep your hands clean by washing thoroughly with soap and water or using an alcohol-based 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 that directly touch the body such as towels, deodorant, make-up, clothing, sports equipment, soap bars, or razors.
• Launder linens, uniforms and clothing worn during practices or physical education classes with hot water and laundry detergent as appropriate. Dry items in a hot dryer to help eliminate bacteria when possible.

What can I do as a parent?

• Check your family for signs and/or symptoms of staph infections.
• If you or your children exhibit staph symptoms, contact your doctor for immediate treatment, following his/her orders explicitly.
• Notify your child's school nurse if your child has been diagnosed with a staph or MRSA infection.

If you have any further questions, please contact your child's school nurse or visit the Web sites for the Illinois Department of Public Health or McHenry County Health Department.