Parents question infection response

Some parents said school officials should have done more to inform them about antibiotic-resistant staph infections, which have been emerging at campuses in Stanislaus County.

"It's something parents ought to be notified about," said Trina Miller, who has a daughter in high school.

"I know they don't want to start a panic, but it would be fair for people to know the diagnoses have showed up at a particular school."

Cases reported at Downey and Beyer high schools this week, a life-threatening case of a Somerset Middle School student, and suspected cases reported last month at Hughson High School are not isolated.

Turlock Unified School District officials said they were alerted Nov. 15 to a confirmed case of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus at Turlock High School, and Oakdale Joint Unified School District said Wednesday it's had three cases. The districts sent letters to parents, advising them of the warning signs and how to take precautions.

Skin infections from MRSA have been reported at schools across the country in recent years, so it wasn't likely that Modesto-area schoolchildren would be immune.

The infections are known to spread where people congregate, whether it's day care centers, classrooms, locker rooms, households or military barracks.

"It started surfacing in our schools about a year and a half ago," said Shari Lowe, lead nurse for Modesto City Schools. She said she wasn't at liberty to identify all the campuses where infections were reported.

School officials dealt with the infections on an individual basis. The na- tional Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises that it isn't necessary to notify the community about a single MRSA case, but school officials should use their judgment.

Lowe said the district regularly has informed school athletic programs about the health issue because athletes are at higher risk of staph infections. Also, school nurses follow up to ensure infected students receive medical attention.

Dr. John Walker, health officer for Stanislaus County, said his office started working with school nurses on MRSA infections in summer 2005 and advisories went out that year to health care providers and school athletic programs.

Walker said he believes cases have surfaced recently because of public awareness -- people are paying closer attention to skin lesions and seeking treatment -- and also because of the increased prevalence of antibiotic-resistant staph that circulates in the community.

Over the years, staph mutated into forms that made them resistant to some antibiotics and are fairly contagious. The germs are transmitted by skin-to-skin contact.

Walker said a common hypothesis is that the infections occur in cuts or other breaks in the skin. But he said he is most concerned about people sharing towels or picking up germs from moist surfaces. Some infections such as cellulitis can start in hair follicles.

"I think this is something we will be dealing with for a long time," Walker said Wednesday. "I think that when we arm ourselves with information and increased awareness, we can make a difference in prevention."

Still, some parents said the word hasn't gotten to them.

Dianna Milam of Oakdale said she was unaware of the health issue until her son got a pimple on his neck and it turned into a knot overnight. Her son is diabetic, so she doesn't take any chances with his health. She took him to a doctor right away.

He has been on antibiotics for a week. "I've never dealt with anything like this," Milam said Wednesday. "I didn't know this was an issue."

It's estimated that MRSA infections caused 94,000 life-threatening infections and 19,000 deaths in the United States in 2005. The majority of the deaths were re-lated to health care, such as patients who were infected during surgery or kidney dialysis. Most were adults, often seniors with chronic medical conditions.

Walker said the public needs to make a distinction between the more virulent infections contracted in health care settings and those spread among healthy people elsewhere.

While it's more contagious, the community-acquired staph is easier to treat. People are advised to seek immediate medical attention for infections. The warning signs are pimples or boils with an unusual increase in pain or warmth, pus, hardness, increasing swelling and redness, red streaks around the wound, or fever and chills.

If not treated, the infection can get into the blood stream, attack organs and result in serious illness or death.

Greg Young, parent of a Beyer student, said he learned of MRSA at a Southern California conference on homeland security a couple of years ago. He said he believes awareness is lacking here.

He said parents need to be informed, as well as students who may not be very concerned about germs.

"Kids have an immortality complex; they think they are going to live forever," said Young, who is on the Sherwood Elementary School Site Council. "Students and parents are trusting the school to provide a safe environment."

Officials, in responding to questions from parents, said they have not considered closing campuses to sanitize schools. Walker said that might eliminate some germs in the short term, but it's likely the bacteria would be reintroduced in the school environment by students carrying staph.

There were no plans to do extensive cleaning at campuses over the Thanksgiving weekend, lead nurse Lowe said. More extensive cleaning will be considered at campuses with a documented cluster of cases, she said.

Bee staff writers Eve Hightower and Merrill Balassone contributed to this story.

Bee staff writer Ken Carlson can be reached at kcarlson@modbee.com or 578-2321.

This story was originally published November 22, 2007 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Parents question infection response."