Parents of Lafayette High School students were informed Tuesday that three students have been diagnosed with the antibiotic-resistant staph infection MRSA.

A release from Fayette County Schools said that the three students are being treated for the infection, and that there is a close connection in the three cases and that they don't believe there is an increased risk for other students and faculty.

The release said that school leaders have instituted an "intense cleaning regime" as advised by the health department.

The release did not state whether or not the students were currently attending school

RICHLAND, Wash.- Washington Governor Christine Gregoire orders the state Department of Health convene a panel on how to monitor antibiotic-resistant diseases like MRSA.

Right now, the Benton-Franklin Health Department doesn't track aggressive disease.

Gregoire also wants to increase the public awareness about the potentially deadly disease.

The state health department now confirms there have been two MRSA deaths in the Texas panhandle in the past two weeks.

State officials say they can't reveal more details about the highly contagious disease because of HIPAA laws. NewsChannel 10 has learned confusion over legal interpretation is what's keeping a lid on infection information in our area.

"I think it's easy to hide behind HIPAA because so many people don't understand it," says Doctor Neese, who notes HIPAA is not meant to keep the public in the dark. "The concept of HIPAA was supposed to apply just for the individual patients but I think hospitals and other organizations are using it to their benefit, kind of hiding behind it in a way," she adds.

One local lawyer explains while HIPAA normally does not apply to stats on infectious diseases, there is an exception. "If the hospital or healthcare provider determines that by releasing that information, an individual could put two and two together and figure out an identity then they could in theory have to say no," says healthcare lawyer Glen Sanborn.

Dr. Neese insists the public has a right to know about  infection levels.  She says she's treated three patients with MRSA in her own office in the last month. To check the HIPAA facts yourself, and to learn more about the drug-resistant staph infection known as MRSA, click on the links below.

http://www.cms.hhs.gov/HIPAAGenInfo/

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/ar_mrsa.html

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) -- Eyewitness News has learned a local school bus monitor has been diagnosed with MRSA.

Wednesday night parents in Providence were notified of the situation through a mass phone alert. Today, letters will be sent home with students.

A day after we learned a school bus monitor was diagnosed with MRSA, parents sent their kids to class after being told things are okay.

Eyewitness News has learned that parents of students at two Providence elementary schools; Martin Luther King and Carl Lauro elementary school were called Wednesday night and told the MRSA situation is being dealt with.

Officials confirm bus number 136 was running with a monitor diagnosed with a MRSA skin infection. The so-called "Superbug" staph infection is nicknamed that because it's often resistant to most medications and can be deadly in those with weak immune systems.

Today, school officials hope to put certain fears to rest, saying it's "all clear" for the kids to ride the bus and be at school.

And the parents we spoke to say they're not worried.

"The phone call seemed to indicate they'd done everything they needed to do to ensure the safety of the children and I'm sure the school system would not put any of the children at risk," says of mother of two students, Kim Lawrence.

"As long as the problem is being taken care of, I don't have a problem with it," adds Lawrence.

No one will comment on specifics of the infected monitor's current work status. But the health department says as long as the infection is covered and being treated, there's no reason to go into hiding.

For a look at the school superintendents statement on the issue, click on the provided link within this story.

Test results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that well-known Maori entertainer Rhonda Bryers died of the drug-resistant "superbug" that has been attracting national attention.

Bryers, 55, died Sept. 28 at her 'Aiea Heights home after falling ill from an infection caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, said Honolulu Medical Examiner Dr. Kanthi De Alwis.

Bryers did not have any external wounds or other obvious entry points for the bacteria, which is probably why she was not diagnosed with a staph infection before her death, De Alwis said. Because she died unexpectedly at home, her death was investigated by the medical examiner.

Bryers used just her first name, Rhonda, on stage.

Deputy Medical Examiner Dr. Gayle Suzuki said she believes this is the only MRSA case her office has seen in at least five years. The medical examiner investigates cases where the victim dies at home. There have been other MRSA-related deaths in hospitals.

MRSA infections can range from mild skin infections such as pimples and boils to more severe infections of the bloodstream and lungs. Because the infection usually is transmitted via contact with contaminated items, good hygiene, especially thorough hand-washing, remains the best defense against acquiring the bacteria, experts said.

Staph infections are not a reportable illness in Hawai'i, so there are no government data on how many cases or deaths have occurred here. Department of Health spokeswoman Janice Okubo said that in preparation for staph becoming a notifiable condition, her agency is developing a system to provide basic data on infections.

The private, nonprofit Hawaii Health Information Corp. reported 2,112 MRSA hospitalizations in 2006, a more than twentyfold increase from 1995, when only 97 hospital cases were reported. A CDC study released last month said MRSA caused more than 94,000 life-threatening infections and nearly 19,000 deaths in the United States in 2005.

De Alwis said that at the time Bryers succumbed to sepsis, the infection was rampant in her bloodstream and had ravaged her internal organs.

OTHERS STRICKEN

After several days, Bryers went to her physician, who prescribed antibiotics, he said. Two to three days later, she died at home.

Ruddock, 20, said that the day before his mother died she complained of body aches but did not appear to be gravely ill. "She seemed pretty fine," he said.

De Alwis said she does not believe the surgery was a factor in how Bryers acquired the staph infection, which remains a mystery. Bryers also did not have any other health conditions before she got sick, she said.

BACTERIAL INFECTIONS

About 30 percent of people carry the bacteria on their skin or in their nasal passage without symptoms. Infections normally occur when the staph bacteria enter the body through a cut in the skin, but it is not uncommon for there to be no obvious external infection, said Tice, a private physician who also works at the University of Hawai'i John A. Burns School of Medicine.

"Even patients admitted to the hospital with staph in their blood may have no obvious entrance wound, but it is not a big surprise, with a third of people harboring it normally," Tice said. "Just picking your nose or masticating might do it."

Only about 5 percent of all staph infections involve antibiotic-resistant strains, according to Tice. He said researchers still have a lot to learn about infectious diseases, including staph, "and the extraordinary micro-environment we live and die in."

Staph infections, including MRSA, occur most frequently in people in hospitals and healthcare facilities such as nursing homes and dialysis centers who have weakened immune systems, and in those who have undergone medical procedures in the previous year.

Pacific Islanders, the elderly and the homeless have been found to be more susceptible.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.