Following the recent outbreak of a drug-resistant staph infection across the country, the Department of Education (DOE) and the Stuyvesant health and physical education department each informed the school about the possible danger and advised students to wash their hands and avoid sharing personal items.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) causes skin sores, marked by pus accumulation. The staph infection is resistant to some, but not all drugs. If the MRSA bacterium burrows below the skin and into the body, the infection can be fatal, especially for people with weaker immune systems. Since its appearance in England in the 1960s, MRSA has most commonly afflicted hospital inpatients.
As much as one-third of the American population carries some version of the staph bacterium. “Anyone can find the staph bacterium on the skin or in the nose. It only gets dangerous when the bacteria enter the body through a cut or a wound,” registered school nurse Margaret Brefo said.
“The best advice is for kids to clean their clothing and to treat any types of wounds,” Brefo said.
The infection can be transmitted due to poor hygiene habits. “Kids can get the disease by not washing their hands, by sharing clothes or by sharing foods or drinks,” Brefo said.
Stuyvesant’s health department sent out a memorandum to coaches of sports teams advising them to warn their players of the possibility of getting infected.
“I received a flyer from the [Public Schools Athletic League] and I informed the coaches,” Assistant Principal Health and Physical Education Martha Singer said. “It’s really up to the kids to listen to the suggestions.”
A DOE memo was posted on stuy.edu on Wednesday, October 31. The memo advised students to avoid sharing items, to wash hands and to keep cuts and scrapes clean.
The memo cited the October 14 death of a 12-year-old student in Brooklyn. But, the memo said, “spread of the infection within schools is rare and has been documented mainly among sports teams, e.g. wrestling, who have direct physical contact.”
The Stuyvesant custodial staff is also working to prevent any outbreaks. “We’re on top of everything,” Custodian Engineer Ed, who gave provided only his first name, said. “We sanitize every surface daily and we refill the soaps whenever needed.”
Principal Stanley Teitel addressed the student body through the public address system, offering precautions.
“There’s not much else the school can do. We have given the students the information they need to know. Now it’s up to them to follow the guidelines,” Teitel said. “I can’t be in the locker rooms all day trying to stop children from sharing items.”
Assistant Principal Biology Elizabeth Fong said biology teachers discuss “pathogens and other bacteria like the Staph infection in the biology curriculum when we talk about immunity.”
“The memos are a good idea, but they can only go so far,”. freshman Stephen Soubbotin said. “Chances are we won’t really listen to the warnings the authoritative figures give us.”
But “anything more than just advising us not to share things would be trespassing on our privacy,” he said.
“I’m going to try to wear my own clothes and keep my things to myself, but I’m most likely going to end up sharing something or other,” junior Michael Jun said. “If I were to forget my gym clothes, I’d rather borrow my friend’s t-shirt than go to class unprepared.”