Friday, November 2, 2007 - Page updated at 09:16 AM
E-mail article
Print view Share:
Digg
Newsvine
Staph infection prompts closure of Port Townsend High School's athletic facilities
Seattle Times staff reporter
Officials at Port Townsend High School said Thursday they are shutting down the school's athletic facilities for the week after a student became infected with MRSA — a type of staph infection able to thrive even when treated by antibiotics.
The same day, the bug — called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus — was reported as causing a hospital patient's death earlier this week. John Jones, 46, died from MRSA in Harborview Medical Center on Oct. 31, according to the King County Medical Examiner's Office.
Port Townsend High School sent out a letter to parents Thursday, alerting them to a student who had been diagnosed with MRSA.
The high school said the gym, locker room and weight room will be closed for the rest of the week as the school sanitizes and disinfects surfaces.
It is unknown how the student contracted MRSA, the school said.
MRSA is commonly found on skin, and is spread by close contact with infected people and shared surfaces. Symptoms may include boils or blisters.
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in October said that the most severe staph infections kill more than 18,000 in the United States a year.
Washington state does not keep a tally of MRSA cases, but state Department of Health spokesman Tim Church said the state's numbers are comparable to the national average.
The Health Department recommends frequent hand-washing and the cleaning of shared surfaces before using to protect against MRSA.
Christina Siderius: csiderius@seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
NEW - 08:02 PM
Missing West Seattle pugs found in Kent
Evergreen State Fair primping for centennial celebration
UW shows foam, plastic ban can work
New Hare Krishna temple opens in Sammamish
Past abuse acknowledged in molestation case

Post a free online vehicle listing
Sell your vehicle on NWautos. Free listings run for 13 weeks and include up to 5 photos
Find cheap gas in the Seattle area
Find low gas prices in Seattle, Bellevue, Everett and more at NWautos.
- A touching Olympic moment that wasn't to be missed | Ron Judd
- Bodies identified from plane crash in Spain
- Seattle guitarist Joseph Shikany killed by falling tree
- Obama raps McCain for ignorance of his own houses
- Microsoft launches free Photosynth for combining shots into one picture
- Obama says he's made his choice for running mate
- Starbucks no longer gives small coffee shops the jitters
- Gregoire vs. Rossi: After top-two primary, real rumble begins
- Southcenter's five major new restaurants could make shopping an afterthought
- US, Poland OK missile defense base, riling Moscow
- Microsoft launches free Photosynth for combining shots into one picture
- A touching Olympic moment that wasn't to be missed | Ron Judd
- Starbucks no longer gives small coffee shops the jitters
- UW shows foam, plastic ban can work
- Dave Matthews Band sax player LeRoi Moore dies
- Southcenter's five major new restaurants could make shopping an afterthought
- Mark Pattison taught Seahawks coach Jim Mora how to tame Tiger Mountain
- National publisher kills Spokane journalist's book
- Kirkland man to be next "Bachelor"
- Recipe: Black Bean, corn and red pepper salad
