Staph cases reported at Kaneland, Geneva

Kaneland and Geneva high schools are the latest local schools to report cases of a drug-resistant staph infection.

One infected student at each school was reported this week. Both have been treated and cleared to return to school.

Kaneland sent a letter home to parents on Monday and Geneva mailed a letter to parents this week.

The infection at Kaneland is not expected to have spread to anyone close to the student, Superintendent Charles McCormick said. The student is not an athlete, he added.

Geneva School District spokeswoman Kelley Munch said she couldn't release any information about the student there.

More cases aren't expected in connection with the Kaneland student, but other separate cases could crop up, McCormick said.

Kaneland conferred with Kane County Health Department officials, who said the district's current cleaning policies are adequate, he said.

School facilities are cleaned every week, and high-risk areas more often -- some daily.

In Geneva, "high-touch items" like light switches, hand railings and desks are being disinfected nightly.

MRSA, or methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, look like a pimple or boil and might be mistaken for a bug bite. It is resistant to most antibiotics and spread through skin-to-skin contact.

It is spread most easily in unclean conditions and through cuts and abrasions that aren't covered.

Serious infections that can develop, including pneumonia, are rare.

Good general hygiene -- washing hands, covering wounds and not sharing items that come into contact with skin -- are recommended to prevent spreading of the disease.

"It's nothing MRSA-specific," McCormick said. "It's just good general health practices."

Cases have been reported in the past week at Fearn Elementary School in North Aurora, Holy Angels Catholic School in Aurora, and two schools in Elgin Area School District U-46.