Staph infection threat comes to MSU campus and facilities

MSU is another location in Michigan to be hit by a staph infection after a student notified an instructor that he had the disease.

“We called the University Physician’s Office and, from what the student told the instructor, they were following all the precautions necessary,” said Larry Sierra, director of intramural sports at MSU.

Sierra said the custodial staff “stepped up procedure” to disinfect the potentially contaminated areas Thursday, which include the judo room in IM Sports-West, used for kinesiology classes.

“It’s nothing out of the ordinary,” Sierra said. “We just put in an extra shift. We just felt it would be prudent to continue to step up our cleaning.”

Officials from the University Physician’s Office could not be reached for comment Monday. Sierra said the student would not return to class, but could still obtain credit.

Staph infection is an infection of the skin obtained by “99 percent direct contact,” said Daniel Havlichek, chief of the division of infectious disease for the MSU Department of Medicine.

“It’s not so much breathing on somebody or coughing on somebody,” he said. “Once you get exposed to the germ, other steps have to take place before you have the disease.”

Last week, the Detroit Free Press reported that a deadly type of the infection was found in metro Detroit schools, as well as the Oakland County Jail. The Grand Rapids Press also reported that two cases were discovered in the western Michigan area.

“It’s been written up in several publications and we in the medical field see this problem regularly, honestly,” Havlichek said. “Why is it happening now and why is it an issue with schools? Frankly, I don’t know exactly.”

Ted Minnick, a service manager for the Physical Plant, said crews cleaned the facilities the student may have been in contact with, such as mats on the floor and walls.

“We might have done just a little bit more, picked up a different disinfectant,” he said. “We have a number at our disposal that would have reacted to that.”

Sierra and Minnick both noted that the intramural facilities are cleaned and disinfected on a regular basis to prevent all disease.

“There’s always a concern if you have any participant if they come in and use a facility,” Minnick said. “We’re always glad for the information so we can react to that.”