Coaches, Trainers and Athletes Playing Cleanup

County Sports Programs Take Extra Precautions to Combat Antibiotic-Resistant Staph Infection

With the recent outbreak of staph infections in the Prince William County school district, football coaches and athletic trainers are paying closer attention to the cleanliness of locker rooms and players.

Staph is a bacterial infection that can manifest in boils or skin lesions and is most commonly contracted through an open wound. If not treated properly, the infection can get into the bloodstream and become life-threatening.

Since football and wrestling require constant physical contact, those athletes are at greatest risk. Staph also spreads through sweaty towels or equipment that isn't cleaned properly.

The biggest concern in Prince William, and nationally, is a stronger form of staph known as methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus. Six cases of staph infection have been confirmed in Prince William schools this school year.

Three students at Forest Park have been infected, as have one student at Gar-Field, one at Battlefield and one staff member at Westridge Elementary School. All cases are being treated or have been treated, according to the Prince William County Schools Web site. But the outbreak has most coaches and athletic trainers taking extra precautions.

"When you come back to the locker room on a Friday night, it looks like a bomb went off in there," Gar-Field Coach Joe Mangano said. "There is mud and cleats, and it's just cruddy."

Ashley Harper, a certified athletic trainer at Osbourn, said the recent attention has caused some paranoia at the school, but the key is to educate students about the infection and how to prevent it.

"I have given out hundreds of Band-Aids the last couple days," Harper said. "It's a good thing because they are keeping clean, but at the same time I feel like they don't understand that staph infections are not a new thing. I have had wrestlers who have had it in the past. The most important thing to do is just practice proper hygiene."

Gar-Field's athletic trainer, Jenny Carver, and her staff bleach the coolers and water bottles daily. They also spray the locker room, training room and all the equipment with disinfectant.

"We want to make sure they are up to the standards they need to be to prevent further spreading," Carver said. "We haven't had any athletic cases, but we want to take preventative measures."

No matter how often athletic trainers and coaches disinfect the locker room or equipment, the infection still can spread if athletes do not clean their uniforms regularly and keep wounds covered.

"We talk to players about taking their equipment home and keeping it clean and dry," said Toby McCullough, the athletic trainer at Woodbridge.

"A lot of kids don't do that, and I'm not sure why. Perhaps it's laziness or forgetfulness, but we're always on them to make sure they keep their stuff dry and clean. A lot of it is just common sense."