Lynbrook's handling of MRSA case praised
The Nassau County Department of Health said Tuesday that the Lynbrook school district followed the proper protocols last week after learning that a high school wrestler was diagnosed with MRSA, a potentially life-threatening bacterial infection.
Schools are not required to report a single MRSA case to the department of health but are encouraged to do so when it involves sports, department of health spokeswoman Carolyn McCummings said. She said Lynbrook school officials contacted the department of health on Jan. 12, the day the school learned of the MRSA diagnosis, and also worked with health officials regarding a letter the school sent home to parents of the wrestlers on the team.
According to the letter, obtained by Newsday, Lynbrook athletic director Tom Graham told parents "it cannot be determined where the particular cause of the MRSA came from" but that the high school would be immediately closing its wrestling room and locker room "for extensive cleaning."
The team practiced at another school in the district, using different mats, according to the letter.
School officials have said the student, whom they have declined to identify because of privacy laws, did not need to be hospitalized and already has returned to school. The wrestler will not be allowed to participate in athletic competition until he is given additional medical clearance, Graham said.
MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus) can be difficult to treat and is most often spread by skin-to-skin contact common in sports such as wrestling. It can also spread in unhygienic environments.
"You have to be concerned about it," said Maureen Lollar, whose son is on the team, "but they did a good job of telling people in the letter . . . You have to be careful with [MRSA] and the school is; they clean the mats and they take every precaution."
In the past year, Long Island schools have intensified their efforts to educate coaches, parents and athletes about preventing the spread of infectious skin diseases after Hauppauge High School wrestler Nick Mauriello Jr. contracted a near-fatal case of MRSA and Lemierre's syndrome, a rare life-threatening infection.
Mauriello, who spent 19 days in the hospital last February, is back wrestling this year.
Last spring, state Sen. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) drafted legislation that would mandate that schools holding wrestling tournaments have working showers and that mats would be disinfected after every practice or competition. The state would reimburse schools the cost of disinfecting. The bill will be reintroduced to the Assembly this year.
