Staph infections, like rumors, can spread widely under certain circumstances.
The Liberty County School System has had plenty of rumors, but no confirmed cases of staph infection.
School officials are monitoring the situation, encouraging handwashing and emphasizing the normal, required cleaning and disinfection of schools.
Interim School Superintendent Harley Grove said, “We have sent information to all schools about precautions to take and those measures are being taken. Our M & O (maintenance and operations) Department has the necessary chemicals for schools to use for disinfecting and has made those available to all schools.”
After classes had ended Friday, Deputy Superintendent Dr. Cheryl Conley and the schools’ lead nurse, Carol Darsey, reiterated that there had been no reported cases of staph infection in Liberty’s schools.
A couple of weeks ago, it was briefly suspected that there might have been a staph case at Bradwell Institute when a student there reported that his apparent staph infection was cleared up. That was the first notice BI officials had of the suspected staph infection — that it was cured.
Concerns about that possible past case were further relieved when it was learned that the student was treated at Winn Army Community Hospital on Fort Stewart and that no culture had been done to identify the infection.
The staphylococcus family of bacteria includes more than 30 species of “bug,” which cause a wide variety of illnesses, many of them minor. Staph bacteria are normally present on the skin of many people, frequently causing no health problems.
Among the school age population, staph is usually minor and easily treated, though it can be very contagious. More serious problems can occur with those staph bugs that have developed resistance to the antibiotics usually used for treatment.
Courier health columnist Linda Ratcliffe, R.N., of the Coastal Health District provided information on staphylococcus in the print edition of Nov. 4. That column is available on line at online.
The Liberty County School System has had plenty of rumors, but no confirmed cases of staph infection.
School officials are monitoring the situation, encouraging handwashing and emphasizing the normal, required cleaning and disinfection of schools.
Interim School Superintendent Harley Grove said, “We have sent information to all schools about precautions to take and those measures are being taken. Our M & O (maintenance and operations) Department has the necessary chemicals for schools to use for disinfecting and has made those available to all schools.”
After classes had ended Friday, Deputy Superintendent Dr. Cheryl Conley and the schools’ lead nurse, Carol Darsey, reiterated that there had been no reported cases of staph infection in Liberty’s schools.
A couple of weeks ago, it was briefly suspected that there might have been a staph case at Bradwell Institute when a student there reported that his apparent staph infection was cleared up. That was the first notice BI officials had of the suspected staph infection — that it was cured.
Concerns about that possible past case were further relieved when it was learned that the student was treated at Winn Army Community Hospital on Fort Stewart and that no culture had been done to identify the infection.
The staphylococcus family of bacteria includes more than 30 species of “bug,” which cause a wide variety of illnesses, many of them minor. Staph bacteria are normally present on the skin of many people, frequently causing no health problems.
Among the school age population, staph is usually minor and easily treated, though it can be very contagious. More serious problems can occur with those staph bugs that have developed resistance to the antibiotics usually used for treatment.
Courier health columnist Linda Ratcliffe, R.N., of the Coastal Health District provided information on staphylococcus in the print edition of Nov. 4. That column is available on line at online.