Vogelweh student treated for 'superbug'

[unhappycamper]

Vogelweh student treated for 'superbug'
By Steve Mraz, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Wednesday, October 31, 2007


KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — A female student at Vogelweh Elementary School who was treated last week for an antibiotic-resistant staph infection known as the “superbug” has since returned to school, officials said Tuesday.

Officials say the girl poses no threat to other students, but some parents were upset Tuesday that they weren’t notified that a child in the school had been infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA (pronounced “mer-sa”).

In recent weeks, the contagious “superbug” has received wide attention in the States because of several cases involving young students, including a few deaths. Schools in several American states closed their doors so classrooms and equipment could be disinfected thoroughly to reduce the risk of MRSA infections.

Faith Jacobson, the wife a soldier, was informed of the case Tuesday afternoon by a Stars and Stripes reporter. The mother of a first-grader and pre-school child at the Vogelweh school, Jacobson said parents should have been notified as soon as possible.

“That’s something all of us — I would think — should be notified of,” Jacobson said. “Normally, you get an e-mail about things that happen at school, but we were never notified of this. If my kids came home with something like that, I’d be upset.”

A mother standing nearby said she would be more than upset if her kids contracted MRSA.


Rest of article at: http://stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=49915