Returning from spring break, few students or staff members noticed anything different at Central. It wasn’t until the Wednesday after their return that they learned of a potential threat of a biological nature from a phone call and letter from the DuPage County Health Department (DCHD).

The messages relayed that three Central students were infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) several days before spring break. MRSA is a bacterium that causes staph infection and is resistant to most everyday antibiotics, according to cdc.gov. The most common symptom is red blemishes on the skin which may need to be drained.

“A little flag went up when [the Dupage County Health Department (DCHD)] saw three cases, a little epidemic, coming around the corner,” Facilities Manager Gary Gebauer said.

The school first learned about the infection when a parent called the Friday before spring break and said that his or her child’s physician diagnosed the student with MRSA, said Ellen Wolff, supervisor of health services.

However, Wolff said the school was unsure if the diagnosis was correct, so administrators chose not to inform the school community right away.

“Some parents come to us saying that the doctor said my child has XYZ, and in some cases that is not true,” said Wolff, “but in this case it was true.”

The confirmation came from the DCHD the Tuesday after spring break, the day after the school requested identification of the bacteria. By this time, the infected students’ doctors cleared them to return to school.

One of these students was junior Derrick Avers, who most likely contracted the bacteria after a hockey accident.

“I fell playing hockey and got a huge cut on my right knee,” Avers said. “But the pain was all on the left knee. [Doctors] think [MRSA] was on the tile of the rink and it got in my system when I fell and transported to the left knee.”

To treat the infection, Avers went to the hospital and doctors “put [him] on IV antibiotics for four days,” Avers said. “They tried all different kinds of antibiotics and one finally worked.”

In Avers’ case, the bacterium was spread through an open wound and traveled through the bloodstream. MRSA can also spread through droplets, such as sneezing, other bodily fluids or direct contact, Registered Nurse Kathy Schwartz said. Schwartz has treated patients with MRSA in wounds, urinary tracts and lungs.

“Say a kid has MRSA and gets it on his hand, and then holds the handrail walking up the stairs,” Schwartz said. “Now you come along and you rub your hand on the handrail and then scratch your face; it’s spread by contact. That’s one reason they clean all the surfaces at the school.”

While the school does confirm two to three cases of MRSA among students each year, a cluster of three possible cases prompted the school to conduct a spring break cleaning, Wolff said.

Three shifts of 20 custodial staff members cleaned the locker rooms, physical education area and athletic locker rooms March 26, 29 and 30, before any confirmation of MRSA, Gebauer said. They used a disinfectant called Quat-Stat, a product Gebauer said “is probably the best thing on the market.” Bleach was not used because of the school’s “green clean” initiative.

The locker rooms were targeted most because MRSA lives in moist clothing and spreads best via surfaces that many people touch such as lockers, Gebauer said.

“If [students] sweat and everything and then they throw [the sweaty clothing] into the locker,” said Gebauer, “it is not going to dry out the next day or even over the weekend, and that is where the greatest concern is.

“If kids are not taking clothes home, that creates a breeding ground for bacteria.”

Another similar cleaning occurred April 9. Principal Bill Wiesbrook asked students to take home and wash their gym clothes to give the cleaning crew access to many more open lockers. During the first cleaning, Gebauer said the crew was only able to get inside about 20 percent of lockers; the rest were locked and contained clothes.

The cases also prompted the DCHD and custodial department to look at other areas of cleaning April 12. Gebauer said the DCHD was satisfied with cleaning practices, among which are the twice-daily checks of soap dispensers, availability of hand sanitizer and daily cleaning of wrestling mats, weight equipment, locker rooms and washrooms.

Even though the cleaning practices “went further than what the health department told [the custodial department] to do,” Gebauer still said he sees room for improvement.

“There are times when cleaning is not done 100 percent,” Gebauer said. “I have workers that are working on their own, and we don’t know exactly what gets done…[However], the workers know what they are supposed to be doing, and the supervisors have been encouraged to enforce that even more.”

Nevertheless, it is still largely up to students to prevent infection.

Gebauer said one of the biggest concerns is whether students are washing their hands. By the increase in used paper towels, he said that an increasing number of students are doing this.

Wolff said that to prevent spreading the infection if one has it, the person should cover the sore on all four sides. This prevents it from coming in contact with clothing and, consequently, other people.

“If you have the infection on your clothes and somebody else touches it, that is a potential way for it to spread,” Wolff said.

Another way to prevent infection is to cover regular cuts. Wolff said 30 percent of people carry the bacteria, but it can only cause infection if it gets under the skin.

When the school received confirmation of the cases, it worked with the DCHD to write and send a letter and voicemail to parents explaining the bacteria and prevention methods. This letter and voicemail reached parents April 7, a day after the DCHD confirmed the cases.

Wolff said the school handled the cases well. With the communication with parents, cleaning and monitoring of the infected students’ conditions, “the health department felt we did everything we needed to do,” Wolff said.