A total of 21 schools were shut down in northern America on
Wednesday after a high school student died of a fatally bacterial
infection.
The schools in Bedford County, Virginia, were closed to allow
officials to conduct a thorough cleaning as a way to stop the
staph, or "superbug," from spreading, said Charles Pyle, spokesman
for the Virginia Department of Education.
The shutdown was ordered after a 17-year-old student, Ashton
Bonds, a senior at Staunton River High School, died Monday after
being diagnosed with Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus,
or MRSA, caused by the staph bacteria.
The teen complained of pain in his side and went to hospital on
Oct. 4. He was sent home after doctors ruled out appendicitis, but
was readmitted three days later to another hospital.
Bonds was diagnosed with MRSA last week when the bacteria had
spread to his kidneys, liver, lungs and the muscles around his
heart. He was about to undergo surgery to drain the infection from
his lungs when doctors detected a inoperable blood clot near his
heart.
There have been three reported MRSA outbreaks so far this year,
said Robert Parker, spokesman for the Virginia Department of
Health.
According to a research published in the Journal of the American
Medical Association on Tuesday, more than 90,000 Americans get
potentially deadly infections each year from MRSA, even more than
deaths caused by AIDS.
Staph bacteria typically are found on the skin or in the nose.
They can cause pimples or rashes but occasionally can also cause
severe infections in the lungs, kidneys and other organs, said the
first government report on overall estimate of MRSA.
In 2005, an estimated 19,000 Americans died from MRSA, about 85
percent of them were infected with the "superbug" in a hospital or
health care facility but the infection is also found in the
community, the report said.
In schools, places like locker rooms are more vulnerable to
staph infections because of shared personal items like towels and
athletic gear.
(Xinhua News Agency October 18, 2007)