Link: Beaver County Times
The Bridgers made it to the quarterfinal round in the WPIAL playoffs, ending the season with a 6-5 record. The team’s success, however, was partly overshadowed in October when one high school athlete was diagnosed with a staph infection.
Since then, Ambridge and other area high schools have been working hard to fight off such infections before it is too late.
"We’ve been using a stronger solution than before," said Ambridge Athletic Director Randy Cosgrove. "And we clean the locker rooms twice every day – once after physical education classes and again after athletic practices."
According to the Allegheny County Health Department, antibiotics-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA infections, have become increasingly common among athletes who are in close contact and may share athletic equipment and locker rooms.
The health department estimates between 20 and 50 percent of the population may have staph bacteria present without any signs of illness, and a number of the infections are resistant to antibiotics. Health department officials also said 27 cases of MRSA infections, the majority of which were found in children younger than 18, have been reported since January, when the infections became reportable by pediatricians.
Athletic Director Zachary Kessler said the Moon Area School District received an MRSA awareness kit in the mail Wednesday, equipped with information posters to hang up around the locker room.
