Is there really dangerous infections spreading throughout schools or has the media got the public in a state-wide panic?

Through the past few weeks, schools as well as the community have been panicking about sickness spreading through schools. The media has shown many commercials recently about meningitis and its dangers. There has also been an uprising of awareness for the MRSA virus and how schools had to be quarantined. Are these big epidemics something we should panic about?

“The media has gone off the deep end. They act like [MRSA] is some new virus,” said the school nurse, Mrs. Weaver.

The MRSA virus is, in fact, not new. It has actually been around for quite some time in hospitals. It looks like a pimple or boil at first. Then it rapidly grows to a bigger sore that oozes fluid. People get infected when the ooze from someone's sore gets into an open cut or sore of another person. However, it may sound dangerous, MRSA is more common than people really know.

“The only reason I think that meningitis is getting so much talk is because of the new vaccine,” said Shelbyville High School Sophomore Chasity Brickey.

The new vaccine for meningitis recently came out and is supposed to last longer and be better than the first one. There have been many commercials about it to raise awareness of meningitis. It is an airborne virus and the most common is the viral infection.

According to Weaver, people have meningitis and MRSA every year, and they should not be thought of as deadly viruses.

“I think that the media has just blown everything up to make a good story. All this chaos will end as soon as something bigger comes along,” said Shelbyville High School Junior Chad Kepley.