Another Case of MRSA in My Daughter's School

Hi there! I work for a dermatologist and we see quite a few cases of MRSA since it causes painful lesions on the skin. The "MR" of MRSA stands for methicillin resistent-- so while penicillin or amoxicillin will not work as treatment options, other antibiotics such as clindamycin or minocyclin do work. We also usally prescribed a topical gel such as Duac (which contains clindamycin) to be applied directly to the lesion.
I just wanted to reassure you that there are effective treatments for it. I also know that the number one way to prevent the spread of staph (or at least decrease the chance of spreading it)is handwashing!
If you love the school, don't take her out, maybe just ask her doctor ways to prevent her from catching it!
Good luck!!

N.,

I know this can be scary, but hopefully this will help a little. MRSA or any other staph infection isn't like getting the flu or a cold. It is much more difficult to get. That being said, the school is obviously not doing well enough in cleaning. However, if you want to wait it out (which would be the logical thing to do), I would do this...make sure your child understands the proper way to wash her hands and that she understands to do this four, five, six times per day (esp before eating and after playing outside or with other kiddos). Make sure she wears long sleeve shirts and pants, as well as close-toed shoes. Let her know that if she happens to get a cut or scrape, etc, she is to report it immediately to her teacher so that the teacher can wash it out, put antibiotic ointment on it and cover it completely. And you treat it this way at home as well...and make sure it will not become open to the evironment while at school (cover it with gauze and tape it down like a mummy if you have to). If you do these things and try to make sure the teacher understands that he/she needs to help with these things, your child will be just fine. Again, it is pretty hard to get this, and usually it starts with improper cleaning and covering of wounds and improper washing. I hope that helps you a little!

I, too, share your concerns. This stuff is not something to be messed around with. But the truth is, it is everywhere, not just at school.

The best thing to do is to teach your daughter to wash her hands extremely well. With soap and warm water, scrub for as long as it takes to sing abc's twice, and use a nail brush. Then follow with a hand sanitizer. before she eats, after the bathroom, after going to public places.

even though the school is small, it doesn't cost much money to have a bathroom monitor to make sure all the kids are washing their hands, and to put hand sanitizer dispensers by the doors. if you really feel strongly about a "scrub down" perhaps you could approach the PTA or a local business about contracting for someone to come in.

my husband and i had to wash our hands like this- really well, all the time- when my son was born, as he was a preemie and it was rsv season. we couldn't believe how much healthier both of us were.

There are also a lot of natural remedies we use to boost our immune systems. feel free to contact me if you want to know about those. not sure if they would help with mrsa so won't post them here.

I am a hospital pharmacist and mother of an 8 year old boy.
I see many patients at my hospital with MRSA that come in with the infection from the community. Changing schools will not help because it is everywhere. You can even get it at home if you have household contacts (parents, siblings that are prone to this infection or carry the bacteria). Some people are colonized with this bug and normally it doesn't cause infection to them. What can you do to diminish your chances of contracting the infection? Good personal hygiene and handwashing. Do not let a cut go with just washing - always apply antibiotic ointment (neosporin is a good one). Wash hands frequently especially after using restrooms or being in any public area (school lunchroom, gym). Antibacterial hand gels will work too, if soap and water are in short supply. Give kids a bath every night and check skin for any cuts, bug bites, tears, etc and treat them with antibiotic ointment. Most MRSA infections start as a red "bite-looking" area. Some of my patients say they thought it was a spider bite. If the bite or pimple does not get MUCH better in 48 hours or gets alot redder, develops pus or hot to touch- do not wait to go to see doctor. IF antibiotics are taken early in the infection they can often prevent hospitalization. Tell your older kids to report any bite looking or red areas on the skin to you asap an they should not use other people's gym equipment, towels or makeup.

HI, N.

Gosh, I am so sorry to hear about these MRSA outbreaks in your daughter's school. It was once commonly thought you could only get this terrible nosocomial infection from being in the hospital but it appears you can now get it almost anywhere an MRSA-infected person dwells when they do not practice proper handwashing or take measures to ensure the safety of others. My understanding is that it had to be brought into the school from an infected person (in other words it's not just something that appears on objects and lives for any length of time without a human host...it's usually attached to a human carrier). You might do some research to find out if any of the staff/teachers/faculty/cafeteria workers/students were recently hospitalized and were infected with MRSA. If so, they shouldn't have come back to school unless it was treated and effectively cleared. My understanding is the only antibiotic that will effectively treat MRSA is Vancomycin. So, if this infected person (whether staff or child) is still in the school they should be removed/leave until they can be effectively treated. The biggest spreader of MRSA is improper handwashing techniques (that's usually how it's spread in hospitals...for example, a staff worker leaves the room of a person with MRSA located in a wound, doesn't wash their hands after caring for this patient at all or improperly washes their hands and then goes to care for a patient in another room). As far as what I would do as a Mommy, well, I'm a worry-wart so chances are I'd remove my little one (by the way...is this preschool or primary?) until the source is found and all infected persons are properly treated and cleared. And you are quite right to be HIGHLY concerned given you are pregnant and have other kiddos. Vancomycin would be very dangerous for you to take while pregnant. It's not a benign antibiotic (like taking a Z-Pack while you're pregnant for something like a sinus infection). It's a heavy-hitting anti-infective, that is used in very serious infections and in cases like MRSA where the staph is resistant and the important thing for you to remember is that Vancocomycin is a Class C drug for pregnant and/or nursing Moms. So, you have to do what is right for you and your family. Take care of yourself and get answers! I will be praying for you and your family that God's hand would shield your family from this terrible infection and that the infection would be eradicated from the school you so dearly love.

May I ask, what Christian school this is? I too have my little girl (my oldest who's 3) in a great Christian Day School a couple of days a week and this has certainly raised some concerns in reading your post and your experience.

Blessings to you and yours...
T.

Ok i don't mean to freak you out but this is serious. We americans are only starting to get serious about this outbreak. It's been doing ravages in the UK ( at least the HA_MRSA).
The CA_MRSA is very serious and different from regular staph infections. They respond to very few antibiotics and we are even seeing some strains of the bacteria that do not respond to those few antibiotics. Again here the only way to prevent this outbreak is by regular good old handwashing and disinfecting everything with Lysol. This bacteria is very difficult to kill and usually lingers around for months. Clothes that come in contact with possible infection sites should be laundered with hot water and detergeant.
Many people think that by taking the appropriate antibitics you will get rid of it. It might be so, but it also certainly comes back. The antibiotics kind of create a vicious circle, by getting rid of your "good bacteria" too. So the best thing to do is to avoid getting that bug in the first place. Wash all scrapes and cuts with hot soapy water, apply antibiotic ointment and keep covered until healed. Those are the best advices I have.Walk with hand sanitizers and keep washing your hands. This bacteria also lives in the nose and groin area ( or anywhere moist and humid). So in a daycare- that's where diaper changing/ toiletting is happening! the bacteria can really have a feast!
This is becoming a plight and people should be aware how to minimise their chances of getting infected... so far the best defenses are hand washing and Lysol ( everything and everytime)-- this class of bacteria falls into the fleah eating bacteria family... so be very wary and good luck.

To prevent staph (MRSA or otherwise), flu, pneumonia, meningitis... you need to teach your daughter 4 things:

WASH YOUR HANDS. That bears repeating. B&A potty, eating, playground... wash them thoroughly with soap and warm water for the length of time it takes to sing the alphabet or happy birthday.

DON'T SHARE YOUR STUFF. Pencils, crayons, makeup, eyedrops, medicine, food & drink, silverware, sweaters/jackets... all of those (even the medicine) can carry germs.

DON'T USE OTHER PEOPLE'S STUFF. See above.

KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF YOUR FACE - and DON'T PICK SORES.

MRSA is no different from 'regular' staph except that it is harder to treat. It's caught the same way, and it never REALLY goes away as long as there's a host - some people carry it on their skin and never get sick.

A public school would spray down the public surfaces - desks, bathrooms, passes and especially playground equipment like swings, slides, and monkey bars with bleach solution. It's not that expensive, and a group of parents could get it done in less than 3 hours.

I would be freaking out too. I was very close to an 18 yr old very healthy boy who died from it, when he caught it in bootcamp. You may have read about it in the papers about 6 years ago. My Husband caught it along with double pneumonia, we are not positive if he caught it in Hospital or before. But before you panic, they can take a smear or maybe just a blood sample & test it, to see if you have it. My husband and I had 4 other sons that were either living with us or up at the hospital all in his room. I was the only one the Hospital wanted a test done on is because I had directly came into contact with his body fluids by "sticking his oxygen thing back up his nose", kissing his sweaty forhead. They were not worried about his elderly parents. I tested negative and because of hospital overcrowding, they sent him home on oxygen for me to play nurse. Yes, it is resistant to certain antibiotics. One of the ones they used on him is now on the list in the paper they said was not working. The main thing to look for in your children and yourself is a rash that develops into little boils with pus and the boils spread and then someone uses their towel, etc. If kid's cough and you come into contact with their phlem. #1 is that washing your hands before putting something in your mouth is not your only nor greatest prevention, because we rub our eyes and do not think where our hands have been before we do that. I would try and find out how the school thinks these 2 children caught it before I would rush to take her out. Any doubts if you or kids have come have been exposed, get the test. I made sure I kept rubbing alcohol and paper towels, at the telephone, computer, in the bathroom. I would wipe down the doorknobs, handle on toilet, handle on refrigerator and it was no big deal to accomplish. But if I sound like a germophobic gone mad, maybe I was. But when my sister-in-law that had been a waitress and is working customer service, cashier at a large Home Depot, told me that yes Money was probably the dirtiest thing in earth but she was putting her money on MENU'S & SALAD BARS. She said people will wash their hands before going to a salad bar or before ordering but very rarely after going to salad bar or after ordering their food and children do pick up menus and slobber on them. She's right, I've obsverved this behavior for the last 2 years and have seen less than a handful of people go wash their hands after their trip to buffet or salad bar or once they've ordered. They have been warning the public about the misuse of antibiotics for years and very few have listened. #1 You go to see a new Dr, Dr at emergency room they are not going to let you leave without prescribing at least a blanket antibiotic like amoxicyllin, because they don't want the risk of a malpractice suit. If your child has stitches, you will be given an antibiotic for sure. With 4 boys, they had stitches more than I would like to remember. I was capable of watching the stitches for any redness and telling when an infection my be starting. My children were not taken to the Doctor for a cold that you can't do anything for but let it run it's course and most Doctors will still give an antibiotic, instead of trusting a Mother's judgement over if her childs cold has advanced to a possible ear infection because the baby, now is pulling is his ear and infection could definately be possible. Sorry, I got on a soap box about this, but the antibiotics are still being misused. The medicine that saved my Husbands life, will not save yours! Then to top things off by reports that this SUPERBUG is more deadly than aids and NORMALLY contacted at a HOSPITAL, is crazy. I would definately be more worried about going to a clinic or hospital than anywhere right now. But you do need to find out how the school thinks the two students caught it. Look for boils or small rashes, if you catch it really quick it can be cured. Antibiotic cleaners and sprays are no better than the misuse of the antibiotics and are not as effective as they were. I stick to the alcohol or a bleachwater spray, I make up everyday. Teach children to run their eyes with their sleeve before they use their hands. Sorry again for rattling.
R.

The KEY is to MAKE SURE SHE IS WASHING HER HANDS THOROUGHLY!!
Seems simple, but I think it will go a very long way.
Also, make sure she is not sharing ANYTHING with the other kids.
I have not experienced MRSA personally, but I freaked out every since I saw it on local TV.
I have sons that are in sports at school and am very afraid for them.

GOOD LUCK!

I just wanted to chime in with a positive light after all these posts. My son is a preemie and contracted MRSA in the NICU. The only reason why we knew he had it because one of his surgery sites didnt look like it was healing well and they tested it.

He carried it for two years without ANY problems. A lot of people in the community are carries of it, although it doesnt mean that it will present an infection. We were able to clear it up when he was a bit older and none of our family members got sick.

So, just a light of hope here. Just because someone has it and/or just because someone becomes a carrier of it doesnt always mean bad infections are to follow.

GL!

Rather than pulling my child out of a school I loved, I would organize the PTO to come up there on Saturday armed with hospital=grade disinfectant and clean everything top to bottom. If half of the parents and all of the staff came and worked, it would be a matter of a couple of hours to do it.

The thing is- I don't know where you are planning to have your baby, but if you are going to a hospital, you (and your new baby, and your child, if he comes to visit you and...) are far more likely to encounter MRSA there...

MRSA is Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus. It is only resisitent to the antibiotic methicillin, stronger ones can kill. we all have a flora on and in our bodies, which is made of varying bacteria, one of which is staphylococcus aureus. MRSA only becomes a problem in immunocompromised persons, or persons in which MRSA has infected a wound. Many people have MRSA on them which causes no problem.

People who never finished their antibiotics and those who visit the ill in the hospital without taking precautions are partly responsible for creating this stronger bacteria.

The best thing to do is frequently and rigorously wash hands.

http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/underst...

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Article Link: http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/underst... MRSA (Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus)

What is MRSA?
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a bacterium that causes infections in different parts of the body. It's tougher to treat than most strains of staphylococcus aureus -- or staph -- because it's resistant to some commonly used antibiotics.

The symptoms of MRSA depend on where you're infected. Most often, it causes mild infections on the skin, causing pimples or boils. But it can also cause more serious skin infections or infect surgical wounds, the bloodstream, the lungs, or the urinary tract.

Understanding MRSA
MRSA is called a "super bug" because infections are resistant to many common antibiotics. Here's what you need to know about drug-resistant staph:

MRSA: The Basics
MRSA Prevention
MRSA Symptoms
MRSA Detection and Treatment
Though most MRSA infections aren't serious, some can be life-threatening. Many public health experts are alarmed by the spread of tough strains of MRSA. Because it's hard to treat, MRSA is sometimes called a "super bug."

What causes it?
Garden-variety staph are common bacteria that can live on our bodies. Plenty of healthy people carry staph without being infected by it. In fact, 25-30% of us have staph bacteria in our noses.

But staph can be a problem if it manages to get into the body, often through a cut. Once there, it can cause an infection. Staph is one of the most common causes of skin infections in the U.S. Usually, these are minor and don't need special treatment. Less often, staph can cause serious problems like infected wounds or pneumonia.

Staph can usually be treated with antibiotics. But over the decades, some strains of staph -- like MRSA -- have become resistant to antibiotics that once destroyed it. MRSA was first discovered in 1961. It's now immune to methicillin, amoxicillin, penicillin, oxacillin, and many other antibiotics.

While some antibiotics still work, MRSA is constantly adapting. Researchers developing new antibiotics are having a tough time keeping up.

Who gets MRSA?
MRSA is spread by contact. So you could get MRSA by touching another person who has it on the skin. Or you could get it by touching objects that have the bacteria on them. MRSA is carried, or "colonized," by about 1% of the population, although most of them aren't infected.

Infections are most common among people who have weak immune systems and are living in hospitals, nursing homes, and other heath care centers. Infections can appear around surgical wounds or invasive devices, like catheters or implanted feeding tubes. Rates of infection in hospitals, especially intensive care units, are rising throughout the world. In U.S. hospitals, MRSA causes up to 40%-50% of staph infections.

Community-Associated MRSA (CA-MRSA)
But MRSA is also showing up in healthy people who have not been living in the hospital. This type of MRSA is called community-associated MRSA, or CA-MRSA. The CDC reports that in 2003, 12% of people with MRSA infections had CA-MRSA.

Studies have shown that rates of CA-MRSA infection are growing fast. One study of children in south Texas found that cases of CA-MRSA had a 14-fold increase between 1999 and 2001.

CA-MRSA skin infections have been identified among certain populations that share close quarters or experience more skin-to-skin contact. Examples are team athletes, military recruits, and prisoners. However, more and more CA-MRSA infections are being seen in the general community as well, especially in certain geographic regions.

It's also infecting much younger people. In a study of Minnesotans published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, the average age of people with MRSA in a hospital or healthcare facility was 68. But the average age of a person with CA-MRSA was only 23.

How can I prevent MRSA?
Staph is spread by contact. You can get MRSA if you touch a person who carries the bacteria -- or if you touch something that an infected person touched.

The CDC says that the following things have been associated with the spread of MRSA.

Understanding MRSA
MRSA is called a "super bug" because infections are resistant to many common antibiotics. Here's what you need to know about drug-resistant staph:

Close skin-to-skin contact
Openings in the skin, like cuts or abrasions
Contaminated items and surfaces
Crowded living conditions, like in hospitals or prisons
Poor hygiene
In health care centers, people who carry MRSA are sometimes isolated from other patients to prevent the bacteria from spreading.

According to the CDC, here are some of the best ways to prevent MRSA.

Wash your hands. Use soap and water or an alcohol-base hand sanitizer. Also, wash thoroughly. Experts suggest that you wash your hands for as long as it takes you to recite the alphabet.
Cover cuts and scrapes with a clean bandage. This will help the wound heal. It will also prevent you from spreading bacteria to other people.
Do not touch other people's wounds or bandages.
Do not share personal items like towels or razors. If you use any shared gym equipment, wipe it down before and after you use it. Drying clothes, sheets, and towels in a dryer -- rather than letting them air dry -- helps kill bacteria.

WebMD Medical Reference
View Article Sources
SOURCES: CDC web site. The American Academy of Family Physicians web site. Capriotti, T. Dermatology Nursing, Jan. 26, 2004; vol 15: pp 535-538. Johnson, L. Infections in Medicine, 2005; vol 22: pp 16-20. WebMD Feature: "Drug-Resistant Staph Spreads Across U.S."

Reviewed by Daniel Perlman, MD on July 02, 2007
© 2005 WebMD, Inc. All rights reserved.

©2005-2007 WebMD, Inc. All rights reserved.
WebMD does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

N. I am a nurse and am quite familiar with MRSA. I have attached a website to the CDC that can answer many of your questions. I hope this helps.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/ar_mrsa_ca_public.html

I'm not sure specifically about MRSA, but staph in general can be spread thru bad hygiene practices (i.e., not washing hands after going to the bathroom and then touching another person or another person touching something that person just touched), so I would think it would be easy to get staph from a toilet seat, a sink surface or countertop, etc. If it were me, in addition to verifying the school has some method to insure everyone is washing their hands thoroughly after each bathroom visit and several times throughout the day, I would check to see if the school can Lysol or bleach water those bathroom surfaces after each child uses them, at least for a while, until the spread of the bacteria seems to have subsided. I know that would be very labor intensive and I guess there's no guarantee that will keep your child from coming into contact with the bacteria since the child who was/is infected goes other places in the school, but I know of people who've gotten staph infections from toilet seats, just by the nature of the location of the wound (back of thigh area for instance) so keeping those areas sanitized would be a start if it's at all possible. If that's not possible, I guess I would think about taking my child out of the school for 2 to 3 days to make sure all of the surfaces the infected child could have come into contact with were sanitized at least a few times before my child returned.

I know the spread of this bacteria is frightening, especially since it's getting so much media attention right now, but we shouldn't all lose our heads over this. We come into contact with so many bugs every single day. Usually, several things have to happen before we actually come down with an infection (come into contact with the bacteria, the bacteria has some way to enter our system thru a lesion, cut, orally, etc., then our immune system has to be weak enough that it won't fight off the bacteria on it's own). I had a staph infection in my c-section cut after I had my first child that my husband had to "doctor" for me daily by washing it with hibiclens and removing the packed gauze a little each day as the wound began to close. He never got an infection while doing that. My mother-in-law had a terrible staph infection on her bottom that she was eventually hospitalized for and no one else ever got an infection from that either even though she was a hairdresser and came into contact with several people all day long.

It's always a possibility, of course, and we should be especially careful with children, but I wouldn't "freak out" about it. We can't keep our kids clear of every bug. Hopefully with some extra sanitary measures at the school, and at home as well, the spread of this bacteria will subside and the media will be on to something new to scare us all out of our wits about. :-)

First, Staph, including MRSA, only becomes an infection if the bug penetrates the skin or enters the bloodstream via mucous membranes. The most important thing is to send you kid to school with Purell, and tell them to use it several times a day, especially after touching surfaces other kids may have touched. And make sure the kids & you wash your hands religiously!

Second, sounds like the school needs to contact the local public health department, just in case. They can help with suggestions on how to keep this stuff from spreading. If the school doesn't call, I think you should.

Pharmacist mom

We had MRSA problem at my last daycare. We took the time to really educate ourselves & also got the local hospital involved.

Besides the number one rule - hand washing - you can still fight MRSA in other ways.

Good ole Lysol will take care of MRSA that is still on surfaces. And it can live for awhile. Read the back of the lysol can - it will tell you it kills MRSA.

No, you don't have the funding of the schools, but you can still be armed with the right fighting tools. The hospital offered this free of charge to us - I urge you to either call the closest hospital yourself, or talk to your director. You'll want to go through Community Affairs. We had someone out within 2 days of asking.

The hospital sent over a nurse to educate the teachers and staff and parents - flyers were posted, and one night after the school closed, everybody got busy with the Lysol and sprayed everything. Staff and parent volunteers.

On a personal note, it's your decision whether or not to pull her for a short time, but there's no real time frame, because you can't be sure of the source & if the school has been properly disinfected. When this occurred at my son's school, I did remove him for a week for my own peace of mind.

Good luck! S.

Everyone carries the staph infection in their body, but most people are well and it does not affect them. You can choose to pull your child from a place you are happy with just to put her in a place you are not, and she would still be around infected people. This strand of staph has been around for decades, it is just a huge scare tactic right now, like bird flu or mad cow. Only you can make a decision you are comfortable with, me personally I would leave my child in his school. I would ask him to wash his hands and any cuts he got at school, ask him not to pick his nose, most staph germs live in the nose, and not to touch anyone who was bleeding.

You should call your OBGYN and see what they say about you in particular. Often when someone close to you is diagnosed with MRSA, they'll put the whole family on antibiotics just to be safe. There ARE drugs that treat MRSA.
My sister's family has gone through MRSA twice now, and each time the infection was limited to one family member, but they all took antibiotics to limit the outbreak.
Go through your OBGYN and pediatrician's office to help decide what's best for your family.

Could you tell me what town the school is in? Thanks - M.

I'm sure you probably don't have anything to worry about. My question to you is what school is this? No one has inquired about that.

Please tell us other moms what daycare you are talking about. For me, if this is the second case I would take her out. It's just a risky bacterial infection because it is antibiotic resistant. You can treat some kinds with special antibiotics but it seems to be public awareness that is bringing this potentially lethal infection to such a high point right now.

I used to work in a nursing home, and MRSA was really a BIG deal. We were always having to learn how to keep from passing it on to ourselves and others. If I were you, I would homeschool for the rest of the year. I know that sounds drastic, but we have homeschooled for seven years, and my children are wayyy healthier than their friends who attend school.

Hi N.,

I work with Texas Health Resources in the Community Health department. We are the parent company for the Harris and Presbyterian hospitals in DFW. We have a Hand Hygiene program that we bring in to the schools that teaches the kids proper hand hygiene and with proper hand hygiene you can greatly cut down the prevalance as well as the chance of infection for MRSA as well as cold, flu and other bugs. Because we are a non-profit hospital system this program is offered free of charge to schools, business, churches, etc. If you would like to pass my information along to the school nurse we would love to come out and teach the program at your daughter's school. I can be reached at ____@____.com.

Thanks,
L.

N.,
Good luck, I am a nursing student and have to be in a clinical setting with this nasty bacteria all the time, and it's not fun. I actually got infected and I can only trace it to my clinical setting, not fun for me. I had to go to the ER to get an abscess lanced (basically sliced opened with a knife) in order for the PA to drain the puss (painful!!!) and it was packed. The abscess was about 1 in. deap and about 2 in. wide and it only took about 3 or4 days to get to that point. I thought it was only a pimple so I let it go, well it turned out to not be a pimple but a PAINFUL abscess. It's healing fine, I am on high doses of Antibiotics.
I don't know what to tell you about your young child,expect for she needs to know how to wash her hands VERY well. It's nasty and painful infection for anyone to get, but more difficult for a child to have to deal with. Good luck. Oh, one more thing, do not use ANTIBACTERIAL SOAPS they take the good bacteria off your skin making it more suseptiple to germs.

I would probably take my child out for a week if it were me- not that there is some magic time frame where it becomes "safe", just for my own peace of mind. People can carry this bacteria and become symptomatic quickly OR it can be dormant in them for a long time. It is a frightening thing- I don't think the media is blowing it out of proportion. There was a death in this area from CA-MRSA a couple of months ago- a child that was already "immune compromised" from another illness, but still a scary thought!

Whether they have alot of funding or not it is the school's responsibility to properly sanitize their facility (whether there has been reported MRSA or not.) Parents can join in to assist the school if necessary. Calling the local communicable disease office (government health department) could provide you with alot of info.