N.Y. College Reports 10 Cases of Staph Infections

Oct 24, 03:23 AM

Current Headlines: Nine athletes and a coach at Iona College contracted an antibiotic-resistant staph infection, which has spread through schools nationwide, health officials said yesterday.

The outbreak was under control and the one student who was hospitalized has been released, said Dr. Joshua Lipsman, the health commissioner in Westchester County.

Staph infections, including the serious Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, have spread in recent weeks through schools across the nation, according to health and education officials.

In Virginia, a Bedford County high school senior died of the disease Monday. And dozens of high school students and some teachers in districts around the country have contracted the illness this fall, officials have said.

Lipsman confirmed that the Iona cases were MRSA, which does not respond to penicillin and related antibiotics but can be treated with other drugs.

Cecelia Donohoe, spokeswoman for the college in New Rochelle, said all the cases had been caught early and were mild. She wouldn't identify the team, citing privacy concerns.

The government earlier this week issued its first overall estimate of diseases caused by MRSA, finding more than 90,000 Americans get potentially deadly infections each year from it.

Originally published by The Associated Press.

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