Second MRSA Case Reported at High School

Hauppauge school district officials are alerting parents to a second confirmed case of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus at Hauppauge High School this year.

The district sent out a notice to parents dated June 6, also posted on its website, that reads:

"Our district has just been notified that there is a confirmed case of MRSA in the High School. In response to this, the district acted upon protocols developed to help guard against the spread of this bacterial infection including sanitizing instructional areas."

Pam Donovan, a spokeswoman for the district, said no further details regarding the MRSA case will be released out of concern for the student's privacy. Information on the district's actions to sanitize the high school were not immediately available.

This is the second case of MRSA reported at Hauppauge High School this year. Junior wrestler Nick Mauriello spent weeks in intensive care at Stony Brook University Hospital after contracting a case of MRSA that developed into a Lemierre's Syndrome, a rare but deadly bacteria infection in the throat or mouth that spreads through the circulatory system.

Mauriello had competed in 18 wrestling matches over an 8-day span, leading to speculation that the wrestler had contracted the MRSA infection from unsanitized wrestling mats. His treating physician at Stony Brook University Hospital said there was no evidence of a connection.

Mauriello's battle against MRSA led New York State Sen. Lee Zeldin, R-Shirley, to meet with Section 11 officials, athletic directors and wrestling coaches across Long Island in efforts to calling for stricter health and safety requirements in high school wrestling.

Grace Kelly-McGovern, spokeswoman for the Suffolk County Department of Health, said school districts are not required to report confirmed MRSA cases unless there is an outbreak, and no clusters have been reported in Suffolk this year.