MRSA Scare Following Chaminade-Lynbrook Wrestling Match

By: Geoffrey Walter

A wrestler from Lynbrook High School was diagnosed with the bacterial infection MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) last week reportedly following a meet at Mineola High School during a match against a player from Chaminade on Jan. 7, according to a Newsday Report

Officials at Lynbrook High School say that the student was not hospitalized and is already back to school.

Chaminade wreslting coach George Dlugolonski reported that the Chaminade wrestler who competed against the student from Lynbrook did not contract any infection.

“It’s blood-to-blood,” he said Wednesday night of how the infection is transmitted, adding that the match in question “happened so fast; there was no blood.”

In a letter sent home to parents, Lynbrook athletic director Tom Graham stated that “it cannot be determined where the particular cause of the MRSA came from,” adding that the wrestling and locker room facilities would be the subject of an “extensive cleaning.”

MRSA is a potentially life-threatening bacterial infection and has been in the public spotlight recently especially among wrestlers and the sometimes-unsanitary mats upon which they compete.

Dlugolonski stated that his facilities at the school are kept clean and fully stocked with mops, foam and germinators. Also, athletes are not allowed to wear the same equipment the following day and must clean out their lockers every night. Sanitary wipe-downs of athletic equipment are also performed periodically.