Edmond School Officials Respond After Student Diagnosed With Bacterial Infection

An Edmond school football player is on the sidelines at home after becoming sick with a bacterial infection.

Officials at Edmond North High School wouldn't go in detail with what type of infection the student has, but they did close the practice facility and had several classrooms cleaned.  The school found out about the infection Thursday when the boy's parents told his football coach.

The locker rooms and field house at Edmond North High School were closed Friday morning. Crews were cleaning them once they learned a sophomore on the football team was sick with a bacterial infection.

"We do know what type of infection, but to protect the student's privacy, we are not sharing that information. But I can tell you there is no cause for widespread panic," said Edmond Schools spokesperson Susan Parks-Schlepp.

"We have no idea where this student picked up this bacteria. We don't know if it was at Edmond North, it may have been somewhere else. So we're just wanting to be extra cautious."

Custodians disinfected classrooms the student had been in, and cleaned all the football players' helmets, pads and equipment after Thursday night's game.

11/7/2013 Related Story: Edmond North Football Player Diagnosed With Bacterial Infection

"Custodial crews went back and thoroughly wiped down everything," Parks-Schlepp said. "What we're doing is we're taking extra precautions because we know that in a facility like a locker room, bacteria can really thrive."

Schlepp says she knows the infection could've come as a shock to some parents, but she assures it is not meningitis, and the school chose to only inform the parents of the football players and a part of the booster club.

"We absolutely understand that parents are going to have questions, but we want to ensure parents that there is no concern for any panic," she said. "We sent the information home to the football parents because we really felt like that was who needed to be informed of the situation."

Lauren Losawyer's daughter is a junior at Edmond North, who says she thought school would've been canceled after she first heard about the bacterial infection.

"I think we should've heard from the school before we heard from the news media because it was more important for them to notify us because it's their responsibility when our kids are at school to take care of them," Losawyer said.

Classes and practices were not canceled. The School says the infection is contagious, but is no worse than the common cold or flu. The student with the infection was not in school Friday. Schlepp says he is feeling much better and will be allowed to return once he is cleared by a doctor.