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Another player dies of MRSA
The Kentucky soccer community was shocked last week when
one of the state’s top youth players, Ryan Robinson, passed
away at the age of 17 after being diagnosed with MRSA.
Robinson, a junior, was a key member of Jessamine Storm
1992 and West Jessamine High School, and he represented
the Kentucky Youth Soccer ODP 1992 boys’ team for the past
four years.
He is the second player in central Kentucky to have died
from MRSA — a strain of staph that is aggressive and hard
to treat — in the past seven months. McKenna Brooke
Hatchett, 14, of George Rogers Clark High School in Winchester
received a bruised hip during soccer practice and later died from
a blood-borne staph infection. MRSA is a deadly bacteria that
we all have on our skin already. If it enters an opening in our
skin like a turf burn or small cut, it can kill in a matter of a
few days.
It used to be largely confined to hospitals, but has increased
among the general public — including athletic teams — in recent
years. Doctors say athletes are now at risk because they are
more likely to be in a crowded condition, and are also more
likely to have abrasions, cuts and scrapes. They are also more
likely to come into contact with shared items such as towels,
razors or practice jerseys.
Although it is not known how Robinson contracted the bacteria
local clubs are advising their players, coaches and parents to
take a number of measures in a bid to prevent any similar deaths
in the future.
It is recommended that training vests and other shared clothing is
washed after each use, and that no equipment is shared unless it is clean.
Players are also being advised to bring their own water to practices
and games, to refrain from spitting on the field, and to always check
for cuts and openings after training or games. If there are open wounds,
you should clean them as soon as you can with peroxide or antibacterial
soap, then bandage.
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