Schools across the region on Tuesday ramped up efforts to inform families about MRSA, while attempting not to overreact and spread undue concern.

In Cedar Lake, Hanover Community School Corp. sent home a letter Tuesday after a Hanover Central Middle School student was confirmed as having the infection.

After the sixth-grader was diagnosed, the Lake County Health Department was notified, Superintendent Michael Livovich said. Livovich said the custodial staff will take additional precautionary measures by thoroughly disinfecting the school.

Parents and others concerned should go to the school system's Web site at www.hanover.k12.in.us for additional information on MRSA, Livovich said.

Highland

In Highland public schools, with two confirmed cases of MRSA and a third pending, Superintendent Michael Boskovich said the district has an extensive cleaning program.

"The products we use kill harmful bacteria and we spray all surfaces, carpets and walls," he said. "We try to make sure we have a clean environment for our students and we teach them about proper hand washing."

Boskovich said it's hard to say if there are more cases than last year, but it seems to be in the limelight.

"This is something that normally occurs with children but you have to be very careful," Boskovich said. "We're taking a positive approach, but we also know that no matter how much cleaning a school corporation does, MRSA is still transmitted from skin-to-skin contact."

Lake County

In Crown Point, MacArthur Elementary School has added an extra person to the custodial staff and sanitized the building after a student was diagnosed with MRSA last week, said Director of Personnel John Williams.

"We are looking at other precautions such as cleaning with a MRSA-preventative product on a regular basis," Williams said. "We also are looking at encouraging increased hand washing and possibly using a waterless hand sanitizer in particular locations."

At Bishop Noll Institute in Hammond, no cases of MRSA have been reported, but custodians have spent additional time sanitizing locker rooms and the cafeteria.

"We also sent information home to parents to let them know how to protect themselves," Principal Scott Fech said.

In Lowell, Tri-Creek School Corp. Superintendent Alice Neal said all district schools and physical education equipment are regularly cleaned with a microorganism-killing solution that is effective against staph, including MRSA. Principals and the high school athletic director also have been provided with MRSA facts and steps to prevent outbreaks.

Neal said information on MRSA has been posted in school buildings and on the district Web site at tricreek.schoolwires.com.

Parents and students can help by encouraging and practicing good hygiene such as thoroughly washing their hands regularly with soap and water and washing cuts and scrapes, then covering them with bandages, Neal said.

Porter County

Pat Olson, director of health services for Portage Township Schools, said two cases of the skin infection have been reported at Portage High School this year. The cases were not related and both students were cleared by their doctors to return to school, she said.

The district is preparing information on MRSA, which it will post on its Web site within two weeks, Olson said. Hand sanitizer dispensers are being placed in all school cafeterias. Olson planned informational talks for the School Board and parent groups.

Olson emphasized that hand washing is the single best way to prevent the spread of both MRSA and many other illnesses, such as flu, that go around in schools. Parents should notify the school if their child contracts MRSA, so it can take precautions, Olson said.

Portage schools are taking MRSA seriously, but the illness is not new, Olson said.

"It's not quite as shocking to us (nurses) as to parents," Olson said. Increased interest in the illness recently has caused some "unnecessary panic," Olson said.

The numbers are not frightening, but MRSA might seem scarier because people have heard it's resistant to treatment, Olson said.

In recent years, the district has seen an average of five or fewer cases, although some may not be reported by parents, Olson said.

The Duneland School Corp. is preparing an informational mailer to send home this week. Superintendent Dirk Baer said Tuesday there have been MRSA cases in the past, but none this year. To be prepared, administrators met with custodial staff to reiterate district policy on disinfectants. The disinfectants used on desks and other surfaces are qualified to kill the bacteria, he said.

No cases of MRSA have been reported in Valparaiso schools either, Superintendent Michael Benway said. Last week, the district hired a private firm to sanitize the locker rooms of the two middle schools and high school.