INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Several areas, including classrooms, inside an elementary school underwent a deep cleaning after reports of a student suffering from a contagious bacterial infection, officials said.
Parents at Osceola Magnet School received a pre-recorded call Thursday morning from Principal Scott Simpson, School District of Indian River County spokesperson Cristen Maddux said. The call stated a student contracted MRSA, a contagious infection that can spread from person to person through skin contact or by touching objects covered in bacteria.
“Our schools are cleaned daily. MRSA is everywhere; it doesn’t mean the schools are infected,” Maddux said. “It was one student. This is not an outbreak.”
The student was not at the campus Thursday.
This is the first reported incident of a student to have an infection of MRSA, or Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Maddux said. MRSA is resistant to many antibiotics, according to health officials.
The incident unfolded Wednesday when the student went to a health aide with a wound. The aide discovered the wound had a bacterial infection, Maddux said.
It was unclear when and where the student first got the infection. School officials immediately had a deep cleaning crew sanitize the areas the student had come into contact with, Maddux said.
Other pupils who shared a classroom with the student were moved to other classrooms. The cleaning did not disrupt classes.
Maddux said the student’s family has been in contact with a doctor. The student will need a doctor’s note before being allowed back on campus, Maddux said.
