H-L fields staph reports
Fact Box
On the Web:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
www.cdc.gov/features/mrsainschools
Hopewell-Loudon Local School District:
www.hopewell-loudon.k12.oh.us
By Jill Gosche, jgosche@advertiser-tribune.com
BASCOM - Officials in the Hopewell-Loudon Local School District have alerted parents about two students with staph infections, have cleaned the school and are encouraging proper hygiene practices.
Scott Hall, principal at Hopewell-Loudon Elementary School, said the elementary school has two confirmed cases of staph and learned about them Tuesday.
The infected students are not in school, and as far as administrators know,
the cases are not related, he said.
According to Web site for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, staph - or staphylococcus aureus - is a type of bacteria that can cause infections. Skin infections could look like a pimple or boil or be red, swollen and painful, according to the CDC.
Hall said the district cleaned the entire school with a bleach and water mixture and sent letters home from the superintendent to students' parents.
"We've gone through the classrooms and all our common areas and the buses and sanitized them, and the key thing is that the children just practice proper hygiene," he said. "You can walk into a locker room, and if you have athlete's foot and the staph is on the floor, you can get it like that."
According to the CDC, staph infections most often occur in people with weakened immune systems who are in hospitals and health care facilities.
Hall said the key to avoiding an infection is to practice proper hygiene, such as washing hands frequently, bathing regularly and changing bedding.
"We continue to make sure that the children are washing their hands and just keeping our eye open for any open wounds," he said. "They need to be bandaged, and that bandage needs to be maintained."
