MRSA worry

1:15pm

Since this morning, the MRSA issue has turned upside down, the case has been confirmed, and a teacher is seriously ill. The case in my nephew's school was confirmed, and as news is breaking, my thoughts and opinions on the issue are changing. First of all, worry and concern for my nephew's safety has entered the picture.

This morning I wrote dispassionately about MRSA, comparing the US media hype in Miami to the British public health scare.

Since then, I have joined the ranks of the anxious onlookers, handwashers and symptom checkers, because the ill teacher is in intensive care as I write, with a confirmed case of the so-called 'superbug'.

Of course, worry will help no one, and I hope I didn't come across as flippant before, when the prospects of infection seemed distant. I do still think that hyped up media reporting does more harm than help.

But, now that we know this teacher is seriously ill, that changes my perspective, and emotion - concern and anxiety - has entered the picture. So, I'm postponing a trip to the West Coast, staying home for a few days, now that the school is closed and he has to stay home for a bit.