Infection Sweeps Through Sapulpa Football Team

A bacterial infection called impetigo hit Sapulpa's football team, but it doesn't have them on the sidelines.

The infection isn't that serious, but it does require treatment and it's quite contagious.

It could have been spread during last Friday's game because it started showing up Monday morning.
At Sapulpa High School, just about every piece of equipment for football players has been disinfected.

Monday morning, a routine check of the players turned up signs of the common skin infection impetigo.

“A couple of kids had complaints of sores that had come up and once we saw a couple of them we realized it was quite a few of the kids," said Dr. Theron Bliss, the team’s physician. 

He said the infection was found on 7 or 8 players, all between 15-17 years old.

"[With] football players, it's usually direct skin to skin, a lot of it was on the upper extremities, when they go to block or tackle, they get a lot of skin to skin contact," he said. 

To stop the infection from spreading further, the school district said it disinfected all commonly used equipment.

The Doctor believes it most likely spread through direct contact, but the infection appears on students on their arms and shoulders and could be connected to the shoulder pads.

"We did all the helmets, the pads, the training room, the weight room, everything, we've disinfected with antibacterial cleaners," Bliss said. 

The school district said it would continue the most rigorous cleaning as long as any students have symptoms.

The team doctor believes that's stopped the spread of infection, but urges players to carefully wash their hands and use antibacterial soaps in the locker room.

Sapulpa's team was cleared to play Friday night at an away game in Bartlesville.
   
Follow this link for more information about impetigo.