LI schools urge better wrestling hygiene
3. MRSA
High schooler Nick Mauriello is wrestling once again after surviving an MRSA infection that nearly took his life. Long Island school officials are intensifying efforts to educate coaches, parents, and athletes about infectious skin diseases.
Click here to read more about Nick and how Long Island school officials plan to combat MRSA.
Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa/2011
Long Island schools officials, seeking to avoid a repeat of a Hauppauge high school wrestler's near-fatal bout with MRSA and Lemierre's syndrome, are intensifying efforts to educate coaches, parents and athletes about preventing infectious skin diseases.
The struggle of wrestler Nick Mauriello Jr., who is set to resume wrestling when practices begin on Nov. 14 after spending 19 days in the hospital starting in February, has heightened awareness and concern.
"The interest is tremendous," Hauppauge wrestling coach Chris Messina said at a seminar about preventing the spread of skin diseases. But "more of the onus has to be on kids and parents . . . I mandate showers, and [many] kids don't shower. They want to go home."
The dangers include ringworm, herpes and MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), a life-threatening bacterial infection spread by blood-to-blood contact. Lemierre's syndrome, a rare life-threatening septic infection, can develop from MRSA or the strep virus.
Last spring, state Sen. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) drafted legislation that would regulate hygiene in high school sports. The bill, to be reintroduced to the Assembly in January, would mandate, among other things, that all schools holding wrestling tournaments have working showers.
The biggest concern is personal hygiene, starting with showering. Dr. Bruce Anderson of the University of Minnesota said the majority of infections come from skin-to-skin contact.
"Get their butts in the shower," Anderson said.
MRSA can be difficult to treat because some strains of the virus have become resistant to certain antibiotics. According the National Institutes of Health, treatment often includes draining the abscess followed by a cocktail of antibiotics for more severe cases.
Suffolk County and league wrestling meets will now build in a mat-cleaning period between rounds, said Bob Panariello, the Suffolk wrestling chair.
Nassau wrestling coaches will attend state-mandated "webinars" on Nov. 16, said Nassau wrestling director Ed Ramirez.
Hauppauge athletic director Joe Tasman called the Suffolk workshop "comprehensive," adding, "I think we're getting even more proactive and doing it right." He said it proved the problem goes beyond keeping wrestling rooms sanitized.
"It proves that as much as we do with the cleanliness of the mats, it comes down to awareness and the cleanliness of the athlete," he said.
This is important when teams travel and don't know what type of sanitary situation they'll find themselves in, said Dr. Anthony Donatelli, wrestling medical adviser for the Suffolk division of the New York State public high school athletic association.
"We have coaches that are doing the right thing," he said. "But a lot of that control . . . [is lost] when you go . . . [to tournaments] or outside the state."
