posted by Joe Polk at 1:36 AM /
The elaborate disinfections schools are undertaking in the wake of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureas, or MRSA, infections are doing little to prevent the spread of the bug, say health officials. Ultimately, only successful research into the root causes of the epidemic will provide the answer to controlling it.
Lesley Stahl reports on the outbreak of the serious and sometimes deadly drug-resistant infection this Sunday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
"I am concerned that we have schools that are spending inordinate amounts of money trying to sterilize the school," says Allegheny (Pa.) County Director of Public Health Dr. Bruce Dixon. "As soon as the students and the faculty return, the school is no longer sterile," he tells Stahl.
Link: www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/08/60minutes/main3474157.shtml
Lesley Stahl reports on the outbreak of the serious and sometimes deadly drug-resistant infection this Sunday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
"I am concerned that we have schools that are spending inordinate amounts of money trying to sterilize the school," says Allegheny (Pa.) County Director of Public Health Dr. Bruce Dixon. "As soon as the students and the faculty return, the school is no longer sterile," he tells Stahl.
Link: www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/08/60minutes/main3474157.shtml
Labels: high school, MRSA, school district
2 Comments:
I, too, have been wondering about how effective the elaborate measures the schools are going through can possibly be. The bacterium is everywhere now and can be transferred as simply as having an infected person touch their nose and then touching a spot someone else touches. Schools would be better off to implement proper handwashing i.e. teaching the kids to wash their hands with soap and water for the length of time it takes to sing Happy Birthday and/or to do like I have heard one school is doing and put in disinfecting jell dispensers in the halls. And, of course, keep gym equipment properly cleaned between uses.
Superintendent Allison has been communicating regularly with parents about MRSA. Information is available on the School District website:
http://www.mtlsd.org/district/mrsa.asp
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