Hauppauge – Suffolk County Executive Steven Levy and the county Department of Health Services are issuing a health advisory to all residents and school districts about Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) and how they can prevent and reduce the risk of infections among students in schools. The county is advising residents not to panic about MRSA infections; they are preventable and treatable.

“We want to reassure the public that staph is common in the environment and it is not a threat to healthy people,” said Levy. The recent cases of MRSA have raised concerns in students, parents and school officials. To date there have been four confirmed cases in Suffolk County, impacting young people ages one, two, seven and 17 from Islip, Huntington, Babylon and Brookhaven. All are being treated and they are out of the hospital at the present time.  

MRSA is a common bacteria that is not a threat to the average person. Contrary to some published reports the MRSA infection is treatable if the proper antibiotics are prescribed. MRSA is resistant to the antibiotic Methicillin, however, there are stronger antibiotics that can combat this infection. MRSA has been in the United States for the past five decades primarily in institutional settings such as hospital and nursing facilities. It has become more common in recent years to see these cases in the community setting.

“One in every four people carries staph on their skin and they never get a serious infection,” said Suffolk County Health Commissioner Humayun Chaudhry.

Staph infections are in the environment and at this time the Health Department can’t confirm any specific association. Infected person participating in contact sports can pass  the infection through physical contact. The Suffolk County Department of Health Services has asked all county schools to report every case of MRSA to better monitor the situation.

To Prevent Infection:

• Keep your hands clean by washing thoroughly with soap and water or using alcohol-based hand sanitizer
• Keep cuts and scrapes clean and cover with a bandage until healed
• Avoid contact with other people’s wounds or bandages
• Avoid sharing personal items such as razors or towels

If you have concerns or believe you or a family member has MRSA please call the Suffolk County Department of Health Services at 631-853-3055.