Another staph infection confirmed in Port Townsend

PORT TOWNSEND — The Port Townsend School District has canceled preschool classes at one of its elementary schools after confirming a second case of a drug-resistant staph infection.

An adult in Grant Street Elementary School's preschool has been treated for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA (pronounced MER-sah), and is no longer considered contagious, Principal Steve Finch said.

No other information about the person was released.

But both morning and afternoon preschool classes have been canceled Monday and Tuesday so crews can disinfect the affected classroom, housed in a portable building across the parking lot from the main school building, Finch said.

The rest of the school will hold classes as usual.

Last week, a football player at Port Townsend High School was diagnosed with MRSA, prompting school officials close down the school gym and weight room and cancel the final football game of the year.

Since then, a second Port Townsent football player believed to have contracted MRSA has been tested. Lab results are pending, head football coach Tom Sly told the Peninsula Daily News.

Last Wednesday, the King County medical examiner's office confirmed a 46-year-old Federal Way man died of MRSA at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

MRSA is commonly found on skin, and is spread by close contact with infected people or contaminated surfaces. It is resistant to antibiotics and difficult to treat. Symptoms include lesions, boils and red bumps on the skin.

The government estimates more than 90,000 Americans are sickened by MRSA each year and nearly 19,000 die.

Health officials recommend frequent hand-washing and the cleaning of shared surfaces as basic precautions to protect against MRSA.