As Cases Arise, Schools Act to Ward Off Virulent Staph

As national estimates focus on an increase in serious infections caused by an antibiotic-resistant germ, officials in the Washington region have identified more than a dozen cases among students and are organizing extensive cleanups of numerous schools.

The confluence of circumstances, highlighted by the death of a teenager this week in Bedford County, Va., has put administrators and parents on edge and pushed the superbug, methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, into the forefront of public attention.

Millions of Americans routinely carry staph bacteria on their skin or in their nasal passages and have no problems. And many infections are relatively mild, with the body successfully fighting the germ. But this virulent strain of the microbe can turn minor cuts and sores into life-threatening conditions.

As of yesterday, Montgomery County schools had 14 cases, and lab results were pending in two dozen suspected cases. Anne Arundel County schools have recorded one MRSA infection and have received 57 reports from parents about possible cases. Two cases have been confirmed at Wilde Lake High School in Howard County.

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