Parents Unsure How to React to Staph Infections

Some Choosing Vigilance Over Alarm for Now

Michelle Grevert, a Prince William real estate agent with daughters at Gar-Field Senior High School, considers herself a rational parent.

When meningitis is reported in the schools every so often, she becomes genuinely concerned. When antibiotic-resistant staph infections were documented across the Washington area last week, including a handful of cases in Prince William County, Grevert took notice but ultimately shrugged.

Her daughters, Lauren, 17, and Briana, 15, a senior and sophomore, have weapons against infections. They tote around bottles of hand sanitizer in their purses every day.

"My kids are pretty good about washing their hands. Lauren's a little germaphobe," Grevert said. "I have a big refill container [of hand sanitizer], and I refill the little ones that they keep in their purses. It was no big deal."

After school systems across the Washington area reported that 31 students had serious staph infections, known as methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), parents said it was difficult to know whether they should be alarmed or merely vigilant. One student in Bedford County, Va., died from the MRSA infection. Others have been treated at hospitals and released.

In Prince William, officials spent time simply trying to verify how many cases existed in the school system. At first, school system officials reported that six students had been infected. Then, they determined five students and an elementary school staff member were infected.

Late Friday, the system amended the report, saying seven students and two employees were infected.

Irene Cromer, a school system spokeswoman, said late Friday that the numbers will likely change as school officials receive and verify reports. As of late Friday, Gar-Field Senior High, Battlefield High, Benton Middle, Lake Ridge Elementary and Vaughan Elementary had one student each with the infection; Forest Park had two; and Westridge Elementary and Freedom High had one employee each with the infection.

School officials took numerous steps to notify parents, leaving recorded messages at homes and splashing updates prominently on the school system Web site, http://www.pwcs.edu.

In his message to parents on the Web site, Superintendent Steven L. Walts wrote that school officials are frequently in touch with local health officials and that athletic trainers receive "ongoing training" to prevent communicable diseases. The Web site also posts a link that offers tips to parents explaining the MRSA staph infection and prevention methods.

For parents such as Grevert, the information is useful. But some of the better intelligence she acquires comes directly from her daughters.

"They don't feel worried at all. They're in contact with kids throughout the day. I would think that if more kids were panicked, they would tell me," she said. "They're good reporters."