Gilroy High School wrestling coach Mike Koester was hospitalized
with what doctors diagnosed as MRSA, a staph infection resistant to
many common antibiotics. Koester also coaches the Gilroy Hawks, a
club team.
Sara Suddes – staff writer
Gilroy High School wrestling coach Mike Koester was hospitalized with what doctors diagnosed as MRSA, a staph infection resistant to many common antibiotics. Koester also coaches the Gilroy Hawks, a club team.
Koester was admitted Friday to Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital in Hollister after the infection failed to respond to oral antibiotics prescribed by his family physician.
On Wednesday, he blamed a dirty high school wrestling room for his infection.
“The wrestling room is unsafe … it wasn’t built for wrestling … it’s a petri dish with no ventilation. The room needs to be shut down.” Koester said Wednesday from his hospital room. The room is housed in a portable building on the GHS campus, and it’s the only room Koester has used for wrestling since the school year began.
School officials have done just that to prevent the possible spread of MRSA, or Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
“We haven’t been in the room since (Oct. 23),” said wrestling co-head Armando coach Gonzalez. “When we found out (about the infection) we notified our AD (athletic director) and Principal Maxwell and they immediately took us out of there and quarantined the room.”
A week prior to his hospitalization, Koester noticed what looked similar to a spider bite on his left forearm. Over the next few days, the mark became swollen, alarming Koester, who visited his family physician. Koester was admitted to Hazel Hawkins where he remained for six days and was discharged Wednesday. He has been on intravenous antibiotics since Friday and will remain on them for two weeks, he said.
“My forearm swelled to the size of my calf before they cut the infection out,” Koester said.
The number of people infected with MRSA is up in recent years in Santa Clara County, as it is in other parts of the country, according to a fact sheet put out by the Santa Clara County Public Health Department. MRSA is spread through close skin-to-skin contact, “often … through cuts and scrapes on skin,” said Joy Alexiou, Public Information Officer for Santa Clara County. Unbroken skin is a natural barrier to the infection, and MRSA can live on the skin “only for a short period of time,” Alexiou said.
A 12-year-old boy from Brooklyn, NY, died on Oct. 14, from the same form of staph infection, prompting action by heath and education officials to reassure parents – and a $25 million lawsuit against Kings County Hospital, according to published press reports.
Because of the nature of the infection, certain athletic activities, such as wrestling, can increase the likelihood of contracting MRSA, Alexiou said. Schools around the county have been made aware of the increasing number of infections and are taking measures to prevent MRSA from spreading.
The Gilroy Unified School District ordered facilities testing to begin today and results are expected in two weeks, said Steve Brinkman, Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services. Raibon & Colbert Associates will conduct the tests.
“We consider this a serious issue and want to put any concern to rest by testing all of our physical education facilities – gym, weight room, locker room, and wrestling room,” Brinkman said. “We may not find a thing, but we want to proceed with an abundance of caution.”
Koester said Wednesday from his hospital room that he looks forward to returning to coaching. He and his friend Gonzalez co-coach the GHS team.
“GHS has done a lot to upgrade the football fields and put money into the bleachers and the sound system,” Gonzalez said. “They put money into the new athletic training room, they refurbished the gym’s floors every year. We have a new weight room and I think the next thing is to come up with a new wrestling room.”
The wrestling room is used by wrestlers and physical education students. The coaches and athletes clean the room daily with mat cleaners and disinfectants that are supposed to kill bacteria, Gonzalez said. Students also are encouraged to wear long pants or sweats to reduce as much exposed skin as possible.
