Parents are concerned after three Florida schools had to be sanitized over concerns about MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant bacteria that spreads through cuts in the skin.
Dr. Deborah Mulligan is a pediatrician and professor at Nova Southeastern University. She's also the spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics.
She says MRSA is very common, especially among kids.
"Believe it or not it's up to 30 percent of children in U.S. classrooms that have been diagnosed."
She says some kids come into contact with MRSA, but don't develop symptoms. The bacteria is just living on their skin or in their noses.
"Kids are nose-pickers, so if they pick their nose and they're a carrier and then touch toys, that's one way the bacteria spreads to other kids and family members."
Dr. Mulligan recommends covering cuts or sores with a bandage, frequent hand washing, no sharing of towels or clothing. Also, wash any toy your kids are sharing as well as surfaces that are frequently coming into contact with the skin, like keyboards, phones and door knobs.
What to look for? Dr. Mulligan says if your child has a sore that's red, warm and oozes of puss, contact your physician, especially if it's accompanied by a fever.
We also spoke with Dr. Alina Alonso, the Director of the Florida Dept. of Health, Palm Beach County, who says it takes an opening for the bacteria to get in, despite the skin being porous.
"The skin breathes and is porous, but it only can get down into your system if you have a cut or a sore. Being on the surface it cannot go through those small pores that the skin has."
Dr. Alonso doubles down on Dr. Mulligan's comment about MRSA being common. She says it's so common that it is not a reportable illness. In other words, MRSA is not reported to the Health Department.
Meanwhile, the Palm Beach County School District is clarifying that no MRSA bacteria was found at any of the three schools that were scrubbed down, but a couple of people who are regularly on site at two schools were diagnosed with it, while it was discovered that another person who visited a third school had MRSA.
Click Here for more information on MRSA from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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