Wichita Falls ISD Dealing with Staph at Rider HS
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Staph-it’s not something you want but many of us have. In fact, according to WebMD, about 25% of people normally carry staph in the nose, mouth, genitals, or anal area, and don’t have symptoms of an infection. The foot is also very prone to picking up bacteria from the floor. It hit quite close to home for the Wichita Falls ISD earlier this month, at Rider High School to be more specific. Ashley Thomas, communications officer for the WFISD issued the following in a press release:
The district was first notified of three cases of staph infection at Rider High School on the afternoon of September 8. On September 9, the Wichita Falls-Wichita County Public Health District swabbed the Rider High School locker room. That evening, a school-wide phone call was made to all parents and information about staph was also posted on our district website and the Rider High School website. We received the results of the September 9 swabbing on Friday, September 11.
District administrators, along with Health District personnel, met with the district’s cleaning company, Aramark. The Health District gave Aramark their recommendations and a thorough cleaning took place in the locker rooms September 12-14. On Monday, one week after the initial cleaning, the Health District returned to Rider High School to do another swab test of the locker rooms. The district should receive the results this week. At that time, we will know if there are others areas that need to be addressed.
Since learning of the staph cases, the district’s athletic trainers have developed a detailed plan that includes a more stringent cleaning process. Foggers have also been ordered and delivered to all six campuses with locker rooms. All locker rooms will be fogged. The process takes approximately 12 hours and the locker rooms will be off limits during that time. The school district will also be working with the Health District to test at other campuses to determine if there are any other areas that need to be addressed.