That another teenager died of MRSA that recently has turned up in schools across the US has drawn the nation's attention on such deadly drug-resistant strain of bacteria, according to media reports Friday.(photo: file photo from Xinhua)

Ashton Bonds, the lastest victim, was a senior at Staunton River High School in Moneta, Virginia, who was diagnosed with MRSA, short for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. After struggling with the infection for a week, the 17-year-old died on Monday.

The figures about MASA infections and related deaths, from a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on Wednesday, imply that its death rate is even higher than the HIV/AIDS rate in 2005, and than previously thought.

Local officials closed all 22 schools in Bedford County for cleaning this week.

On Wednesday, school officials in Connecticut confirmed that one student at Weston High School and one at Newton High School have been diagnosed with MRSA. In Rockville, Maryland, at least 13 students have been diagnosed with MRSA.

In addition, such cases also have been reported in Ohio, Michigan and other states.

Although school principals have observed that the bacteria predominantly affects student athletes, cases have been reported in children of elementary school age as well.

But, Dr. Julie Gerberding, the director of the Centers for Disease Control, said these infections are not new. "It's important to appreciate that many of these infections are the same infections moms have been dealing with for decades. They're very preventable," she said.

"If you see a skin infection that looks like the redness is getting bigger or if it's associated with a lot of swelling around the wound or if the individual has a fever, those are reasons to definitely seek doctor's attention. But most of the time these are things that can be treated with the same kind of common sense approach that is we've been using for years."

"The healthy person in the community -- like the high school student -- generally is going to be able to be treated adequately without adverse outcome," Pat Mshar said, who is an epidemiologist for Connecticut's Department of Health.

So long as an infected student seeks treatment, covers open cuts or lesions and avoids direct skin contact with other students, "it's OK to go to school," Mshar added.

(Agencies via Xinhuanet October 19, 2007)