CEDAR LAKE | Crown Point school officials are taking precautions after a MacArthur Elementary school student was diagnosed with MRSA.
MRSA, or methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, is a drug-resistant bacterial infection that generally starts as small red bumps that resemble pimples, boils or spider bites.
MRSA can quickly turn into deep abscesses that have to be surgically drained and can cause serious infections.
John Williams, Crown Point schools director of personnel, said school personnel have talked to Lake County Health Department officials, and they do not have to close MacArthur.
He said the schools are using "regular sanitizing procedures," and added an additional person to the custodial staff Wednesday to boost the cleaning staff and thoroughly disinfect MacArthur with a specialized cleaning solution.
"We got confirmation about the case through the youngster's doctor Wednesday and sent notes home to parents," Williams said.
Williams did not know how long the youngster was in school before the case was diagnosed. He declined to name the child's gender or grade. Williams said the youngster will return to school when released by a family physician.
Parent Allison Bricker, of Cedar Lake, said she has two youngsters at MacArthur Elementary School, sons in second and third grade.
"I think they should have closed the school," Bricker said.
"We had a big discussion with our boys about washing their hands frequently and not sharing food or water," she said, adding that she sent the boys to school with bottled water.
Cases of MRSA also have shown up in Munster and Lake Central schools.
Bricker said the school district is also dealing with well water problems at MacArthur Elementary School.
There are higher than acceptable levels of arsenic in the drinking water at the elementary school, something the Indiana Department of Environmental Management is aware of. The school district has provided bottled water to students.
It's an issue the district, the town of Cedar Lake and IDEM are working to resolve.
