MRSA infection shuts school house

The PVL infection contracted by two students is linked to MRSA

A boarding school in Kent has closed one of its accommodation houses after two students were taken ill with an infection linked to MRSA.

Nine further suspected cases of Panton Valentie Leukocidin (PVL) have been found at Cranbrook School, a voluntary aided school for 13 to 18-year-olds.

Kent Health Protection Unit said all the students were recovering well and the house was being deep cleaned.

Letters and information about PVL have been sent to parents and staff.

Toxic substance

PVL is a toxic substance produced by some strains of the Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, including MRSA.

It lives harmlessly on the skin or in the back of the nose of one in three people but may cause infections if it enters the body, for example through a cut.

Director of the health protection unit Dr Mathi Chandrakumar said all close contacts of the affected students had been screened.

"As a precaution, I have advised that the boarding accommodation in which the two students live be temporarily closed to prevent further transmission," he said.

The Cranbrook outbreak comes after the death of a University of Kent student last month from PVL.

Other students and staff at the university were tested and told to follow hygiene measures such as hand-washing and regularly changing bed linen, underwear and clothes.

A spokesman for the health protection agency said the two infections were not linked.