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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A county in southern Virginia closed its 21 schools on Wednesday to clean them to prevent the spread of a dangerous bacterial infection that killed a 17-year-old high school student, officials said.
The student died this week from a drug-resistant staph infection known as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, which has become a worrisome public health issue nationwide.
Schools in Bedford County were closed to allow officials to carry out a thorough cleaning in an effort to get rid of the bacteria responsible for these infections, according to Charles Pyle, spokesman for the Virginia Department of Education.
Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on Tuesday showed an estimated 19,000 Americans died from MRSA in 2005, the most recent year for which figures were available, and made 94,000 seriously ill.
This was much more than previous estimates. About 85 percent were caught in a hospital or health care facility but the infection is also found in the community.
This is what happens with the overprescription of antibiotics, and the under development of human immune systems due to a constant use of medication every time the body is challenged.
This is what happens with the overprescription of antibiotics, and the under development of human immune systems due to a constant use of medication every time the body is challenged.
Agreed... I've seen doctors say that this new trend of anti-bacterial hand sanitizers and such are going to, long term, ensure the more rapid development of super-viruses that are immune to anti-biotics.
Scary thoughts, but I've become fatalist in that I've just come to grips that we all gotta die from something....
I work for a Virginia school system that to date has had 18 reported cases of Staph in the last month or so. WASH THOSE HANDS!!!
The hand sanitizers kill 99.9 percent of germs and bacteria. Problem is, there are millions upon millions of them that can be picked up. What happens is the relatively weak ones are killed off easily, and the human immune system doesn't have to fight them. The .1 percent not killed are typically the most dangerous ones. Running water is the best method of cleaning hands. Hand sanitizers are worthless IMO.
Now I am thankful that I have never been too fastidious about hand washing and super cleanliness. Reasonably civilized but not using "sanitizers" all the time. I haven’t had a major infection since the gall bladder succumbed about 10 yrs ago. Immune systems need to be exercised, so don't worry about a little dirt in you life. The cuts and scratches acquired when fussing with cars and bikes for instance.
On the other hand, not only have we bred more resistant diseases because of the over-usage of antibiotics... But schools, where we'd all hope our children are safe, are breeding these resistant strains and spreading them.
Not too long ago about 200 students and teachers had to be tested for Tuberculosis
Local Story on this... (http://www.wvec.com/news/topstories/stories/wvec_medical_100507_tb_tests.13fcdd335.html - broken link)
MSNBC Reports results (broken link)
Quote:
Of the 31 people tested at the Virginia Beach Technical and Career Center, nine tests came back positive.
Quote:
Of the 181 students [at Salem high school] tested, 16 of them tested positive
Quote:
As a precaution, those who tested negative will be tested again next month.
So, including the student that infected them - 26 confirmed cases of TB. It's pretty scary, actually. Overall, I'm concerned about the breeding of drug-resistant strains but I'm more concerned about how the schools have become mass breeding grounds.
A lot of this, IMO, is the fault of the school system -
1) if you miss too many days (even for illness, death, or whatever) you automatically fail. Doesn't matter how many doctor's notes you have. I've seen that done.
2) Locker Rooms, Gyms, Bathrooms, cafeterias, and the likes are completely unsanitary. Many schools have gone away from bleaching these areas during the summers because students would complain to their parents about the "smell".. then the school officials have to deal with a group of "PMS" parents. The janitors don't seem to take pride in their cleaning - because nobody respects their work. They not only get mistreated by students who laugh at them - but the teachers, parents, and officials mock and scoff them.
3) Because of the first policy about missing school, parents that believe that their kids only get sick when there's a test, the cost of a doctor's visit, and simply not "knowing" their kids - many parents will give just give the child some cough syrup, some medicine to reduce the fever ((so they can't go to the Nurse's)), and send them on their way.
4) Lack of TP/Soap/paper towels... with an overabundance of ice cold water in the bathrooms. ((They stopped giving students warm water because students were using the warm water for "drug use" in the bathrooms))
Sorry if I went off topic a bit and ranted... I feel better now.
Aside - VAFury is a PUBLIC EMPLOYEE! That explains a lot.
Every public rest room is usually unsanitary but that is the nature of the beast. Ever been to a latrine in the third world? I find the irony that we disrespect the people that work to keep us healthy like janitors and teach our kids while admiring the folk that rip us off with, among other things, their huge executive salaries. Nobody expects it to make sense
Considering I was working in a Florida school system before, trust me, it's a picnic....
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