Recently, Madison Plains School District had an outbreak with the Impetigo infection. They had 60 students showing signs of the infection. Those students were immediately sent home. This forced them to cancel all classes district wide on Friday, October 16. Madison Plains Superintendent, Tim Dettwiller, told WBNS-TV, “A cleaning crew will do a deep clean of the district’s buildings on Friday.”

     Impetigo is a skin infection that is usually found in younger kids. Jonathan Alder’s school nurse Linda Ward explains exactly what Impetigo is, “Impetigo is caused by a bacterial infection named Staphylococcus Aureus.” The infection will start as a red itchy patch of skin and a small blister, then  crusty, yellowish pus will form on it. Once a child is infected with Impetigo, it can be passed on very easily. Simply touching one another can spread the sickening rash. If the infection is not properly taken care of by antibiotics, it could lead to secondary infections. If worse comes to worst, Impetigo can cause kidney problems; however, this is only in less than .5% of the cases.  

      Jonathan Alder has two confirmed cases of Impetigo. Ward says this is not unusual for a school this size. Each year there are at least a couple, if not more, students with the disease. When we do hear of cases of Impetigo,  custodians will do a thorough cleaning in the classrooms. Ward also recommends the students practice good hygiene. Students should wash their hands frequently. To help avoid this particular infection, students should wash their face as well. Impetigo is very easy to obtain, but it is also very easy to prevent.