After the infected boy, Pheron, and his mother appeared on television two weeks ago to discuss his MRSA infection, school officials insisted that his sister and two cousins could no longer attend school. Pheron’s mother, Linda King Cowser, said the school expressed concerns that the other children in the family had been exposed to the infectious bacteria. School officials are requiring notes clearing each of the children before they will be allowed back at school.

MRSA is a virulent staph infection that has parents and school administrators around the nation worried after it caused the deaths of four children in the United States last month. Although MRSA can be spread by skin-to-skin contact, the Centers for Disease Control guidelines do not recommend keeping the family members of infected patients home from school.

Pheron’s mother has consulted an attorney who intends to ask a judge to allow the children to return to school immediately.  The school did not respond to NBC’s request for comment.

Schools in the Chicago area and throughout the state of Illinois have reported cases of drug-resistant staph infections this month. Four American children died from the superbug methicilllin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in October 2007, prompting heightened awareness of the the virulent infection. While state health officials have assured the public that an epidemic is not present in the state, parents and school officials have grown increasingly concerned about the potentially lethal bacteria.

Illinois schools that have students with confirmed or suspected cases of MRSA this month include:

• Aurora: Holy Angels Catholic School
• Aurora: West Aurora High School
• Bellwood: Wilson Elementary School
• Bluford: Webber Township High School
• Buffalo Grove: Cooper Middle School
• Carol Stream: Glenbard North High School
• Chicago: Chavez Elementary School
• Chicago: Walter Payton Prep High School
• Evergreen Park: Northwest Elementary School
• Evergreen Park: Southwest Elementary School
• Gurnee: Woodland Middle School
• Joliet: St. Paul the Apostle School
• Lake in the Hills: Martin Elementary School
• Lincolnshire: Adlai E. Stevenson High School
• Monmouth: Monmouth College
• Naperville: Neuqua Valley High School Frontier Campus
• North Aurora: Fearn Elementary School
• Reddick: Reddick Grade School
• Rolling Meadows: John G. Conyers Learning Academy
• Schiller Park: John F. Kennedy School
• Streamwood: Canton Middle School
• Wilmington: Wilmington High School
• Woodstock:Woodstock High School

Periodic updates to this list will be added at the bottom of this article.
Some of the schools informed parents of more than one case of MRSA, and many of the school buildings were closed temporarily to undergo thorough disinfection. Although Illinois schools are not required to notify parents if a local student is diagnosed with MRSA, most of the above schools communicated with families about the new superbug cases in a timely manner. Many schools directed families to the Illinois Department of Health’s Basic Hygiene Guidelines for the Prevention of Staphylococcal Infections in Schools.

The state of Illinois is a national leader on MRSA-related legislation. In April 2007, Illinois became the first state in the nation to require hospitals to screen incoming patients for MRSA. However, medical professionals are not required to report individual cases of MRSA to the state, so there are no accurate and comprehensive statistics on the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant staph in Illinois.

The Illinois Department of Public Health may implement the mandatory reporting of MRSA clusters of three or more cases by 2008.

Update, 10/27/07:

• Serena: Serena High School (2 MRSA infections)
• La Salle: La Salle-Peru Township High School (2 MRSA infections)

Update, 10/28/07:

• Tinley Park: Andrew High School

Update, 11/1/07:

• Elgin: Hillcrest Elementary School
• Geneva: Geneva High School
• Joliet: Forest Park Individual Ed School
• Lake Villa: Olive Martin School
• LaMoille: undisclosed elementary school
• Maple Park: Kaneland High School
• Naperville: Naperville North High School
• West Dundee: Dundee Highlands Elementary

Update, 11/4/07:

• Coal City: Coal City Middle School
• Coal City: Coal City High School
• Merrillville: Pierce Middle School
• Riverside: Riverside-Brookfield High School

Update, 11/6/07:

• Darien: Hinsdale South High School
• Plainfield: Plainfield North High School

Update, 11/9/07:

• Chicago: Mark Skinner Elementary School
• Lake Villa: JJ Pleviak Elementary School
• Sheridan: Sheridan Elementary School

Update, 11/13/07:

• Chicago Heights: Marian Catholic High School
• North Chicago: South Elementary School
• West Chicago: West Chicago High School

Update, 11/15/07:

• Palatine: District 211 Academy- North

Update: 11/19/07:

• Grayslake: Grayslake Community High School

Update, 11/30/07:

• Hoffman Estates: Conant High School
• Quincy: Adams County Juvenile Detention Center