A dangerous drug-resistant bacterial infection has been contracted by several probationary firefighters at the FDNY Academy, sending at least one to the hospital, DNAinfo reported on Thursday.
Students in the current class on Randall's Island were pulled from the academy after the first case of MRSA was reported last week. One trainee in the class was hospitalized from the infection but has since been released. Less than 10 probationary firefighters were removed and placed on medical leave, but many of them had confirmed cases of MRSA.
Even if students didn't have a confirmed case of MRSA, they may have been removed for precautionary reasons, a FNDY official told DNAinfo. Equipment was cleaned after the infection broke out, but the academy remained open.
The Department of Health is consulting with the FDNY regarding what steps can be taken to prevent spreading MRSA at the training facility.
Firefighters will be instructed to bring their own exercerise mats and open cuts will be given special consideration during treatment. The students who were removed from the trainee class may have to sit out until the next session in January if they miss too many classes in the 18-week program.
MRSA was listed as a serious public health concern with more than 80,000 cases and 11,000 deaths in the United States, according to a 2013 study. It is most commonly spread by direct contact with wounds, contaminated hands or equipment and can lead to pneumonia and bloodstream infections that can be fatal, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
In 2007, two firefighters were treated after they contracted MRSA in their firehouse and a 12-year old Brooklyn boy died from it, DNAinfo reported.
