Three students at Northampton Area High School have been diagnosed with MRSA, a staph infection caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The infection can be fatal if not treated. Staph infection seems to have caused the death of a Martin Luther King High School football player in Philadelphia last month.

Superintendent Linda Firestone said the students are getting medical care. Firestone said it’s unclear where the students picked up the infection. She sent a letter to parents urging hygiene practices to prevent spreading the infection. “In addition to our usual efforts to maintain clean and healthy schools, the custodial staff at the high school disinfected surfaces that may host the bacteria,” Firestone said in the letter. The district also posted on its Web site information about the infection, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made a list of actions parents can take in order to prevent MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) in kids: wash hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, keep cuts and scrapes clean and covered with a bandage, when one appears red or infected, see a doctor and avoid sharing items like towels or razors. The disease is spread by having direct contact with another person's infection, sharing personal items such as towels or razors that have touched infected skin, or by touching surfaces contaminated with MRSA.

A central Florida high school, where a student died from MRSA infection, has taken measures to disinfect all potentially contaminated areas by using appropriate cleaning agents, health officials said. The inspection found clean conditions at the school.