All Broward high school gyms and locker rooms sanitized after MRSA scare
Broward County Public Schools had to sanitize every high school’s gym and locker room after learning multiple student athletes had contracted MRSA, a staph bacteria that is often resistant to antibiotics.
School district spokesperson Kathy Koch said Tuesday that “several student wrestlers” were suspected of having been infected. All wrestling matches and basketball games last Friday as well as weekend practices were postponed.
“The District immediately began implementing measures to clean equipment, weight rooms, locker rooms including shower areas, gymnasiums and wrestling areas at all high schools,” Koch wrote in an email.
While it’s unclear where the infection originated or how many students were affected, the outbreak appears to have started after a recent wrestling match involving seven schools. The district notified parents who had children who participated in that match.
The seven schools were Cooper City High, J.P. Taravella High, Miramar High, Monarch High, Nova High, West Broward High and Western High, according to multiple reports.
According to the Mayo Clinic, when MRSA occurs in healthy people, it begins as a painful skin boil. As it is spread by skin-to-skin contact, it often affects wrestlers.
Koch recommended that parents consult a physician to verify that their child does not have a staph infection.
Although it can be resistant to several antibiotics, MRSA is a treatable, bacterial infection usually found on the skin, according to the district letter sent to parents. It can spread through skin-to-skin contact or contact with shared items or surfaces, like towels, clothing or razors.
