Link: Hospital bacteria beset valleys – Roanoke.com.
A bacterial skin infection most often seen in hospitals is becoming more prevalent in the healthy community, according to several local and state health officials.
Four cases of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus have been reported at two Bedford County high schools and one Roanoke County high school in the past two weeks.
"It is a growing problem," said Bedford pediatrician Dr. Stephen Bryant. "In the hot, sweaty fall days of football practice, MRSA is not unusual."
Of the four cases reported in Bedford and Roanoke counties, three of the students were involved in school athletics. Even though the infection is surfacing in high school locker rooms, Bryant cautioned parents not to be alarmed.
