Washington -- With the deadly, drug-resistant Staph bacteria rapidly spreading across Upstate New York, seemingly infecting a new resident in a new region everyday, Wednesday U.S. Senator Charles Schumer called on the President not to follow through on his threat to veto legislation that includes an amendment to designate $5 million in emergency funding to prevent the further spread of the disease.

The deadly disease, which is now blamed for over 90,000 infections and 18,500 deaths annually, has in the last three weeks infected residents and students in the Hudson Valley, Central New York, the Finger Lakes Region, the Southern Tier and, most recently, the Capital Region.

Previously antibiotic resistant Staph infections, also called MRSA, were primarily confined to healthcare settings such as hospitals, clinics, and long-term patient care centers.  These potentially fatal infections have been emerging as a very real threat in school districts across the state with students in every region of New York State contracting the bacteria in recent weeks.

The bacteria, which generally resides in the nose or on the skin of about a third of the population, can be deadly if allowed to penetrate the skin or enter the blood stream. Schools are particularly prone to outbreaks in gyms or locker rooms, where students share towels, razors or sports equipment.

There have been daily reports of new infections throughout New York State, with more than 50 serious cases reported in the state since 2004.

In New York State, the first recent report of antibiotic resistant Staph in the community started in White Plains where nine student athletes at Iona College, as well as their coach, contracted MRSA. Last week, in the Southern Tier, students in the Corning Painted Post school district carried home letters on Thursday announcing that the difficult-to-treat bacteria had infected one of their fellow students.