MRSA infection prompts parental notification

RICHMOND, KY — The confirmation that a seventh-grader contracted Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) prompted Model Laboratory School to send a letter home to the parents of all 685 students to warn them of the infection, according to the Richmond Register.

After learning of the incident, the school immediately followed its MRSA incident protocol by notifying the Madison County Health Department and sanitizing common areas of the school, the story stated.

Christie Green of the Madison County Health Department said: "MRSA is not a readily transmittable disease. It requires skin-to-skin contact with an open wound or skin-to-surface contact with surfaces contaminated by an open wound. If a staph-infected wound is kept properly covered with clean, dry bandages, there is very minimal risk to the people around them in schools or workplaces."

Under state and federal laws, it is not mandatory for schools or other institutions to report cases of MRSA, the story noted.

The Model Parents Organization has scheduled a meeting for April 20 to discuss the incident and to ease the worries of some, the story added.