US : Officials confirm MRSA case at Cluster Springs Elementary

Via Gazette Virginian, excerpt :

" Another confirmed case of MRSA has been reported in Halifax County Schools, this time at Cluster Springs Elementary School.

Deputy Superintendent Larry Clark said Monday, the student with a confirmed case of MRSA is currently under the care of a physician and information sheets for parents on MRSA went out to the students’ parents and guardians on Monday.

Staph bacteria, such as MRSA, can cause skin infections that may look like a pimple or boil and can be red, swollen, painful or have pus or other drainage, according to the fact sheet released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. MRSA is resistant to certain antibiotics called beta-lactams. These antibiotics include methicillin and other more common antibiotics such as oxacillin, penicillin, and amoxicillin.

The more serious infections may cause pneumonia, bloodstream infections or surgical wound infections.

In the 1990s, a different type of MRSA began showing up outside of hospitals and other health care facilities. The Mayo Clinic said in an article on its website that form of staph is known as community-associated or CA-MRSA.

This strain of staph is responsible for a number of serious skin and soft tissue infections and also for a serious form of pneumonia. Health officials said this form of MRSA can produce toxins, and if they become invasive they can spread through the bloodstream, making it much harder to treat."