Brandon School officials confirm that on Monday, Oct. 29, a staph infection MRSA was reported in the district by the parent of a student at the Brandon Fletcher Intermediate School.
A notification was sent to parents reporting the student has not been in attendance since Oct. 23. According to the letter, the student has been under a physician’s care, who has determined that the student is not contagious. In addition, school officials have received proper medical documentation allowing the student to return to school.
MRSA stands for methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, a highly infectious drug resistant form of staph bacteria now beginning to take hold in community-based places such as sports centers, schools and gyms. The bacteria normally causes skin infections and has become resistant to penicillin and other antibiotics, say medical journals.
George Miller, Oakland County Health Division manager, says at least 17 cases of culture-confirmed MRSA have been diagnosed in recent weeks. However, he adds, none of the cases have been clustered together in one area.
‘This is a community problem, not just a school issue,? said Miller. ‘Any place there may be skin-to-skin contact the infection can be transmitted. As long as the wound is covered and the patient is under the treatment of a physician, the risk of infection is very low.?
The district has been in consultation with the Oakland County Health Division and assures that since the student has not attended school since Oct. 23, and that the bus and rooms the student may have occupied have been sanitized; the risk of infection is very low. Infection would have required very close personal contact at the time the student was contagious.
Even though the risk of infection is minimal, the district has implemented precautionary actions including cleaning all classrooms that the student may have occupied the last day of attendance with a sanitizer; cleaning other areas, such as the cafeteria, restrooms and bus; and making sanitizing hand washing gels available in every classroom in the intermediate school. Details: www.brandon.k12.mi.us.