Students of a nursing college staged a protest here on Saturday seeking action against the management over the alleged outbreak of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) among their classmates. However, doctors later said it was not an outbreak, but only a scare.
The students said some of them had developed rashes over their skin. They had body pain and fever too. “Despite this, they are not being isolated and given treatment. They are being sent to hospital for duty,” said a third year diploma student. Another student said their classmates were carrying the infection while treating patients.
Professors at the college said the symptoms of viral infection — sore throat and fever — were found among 60 of the 600 students and it had nothing to do with MRSA. They were common among nursing staff who do not wash their hands after attending to patients, they said.
Theresa Mathais, head of the department of mental health nursing, said students having symptoms of viral infection had been given antibiotics and were also granted two days leave.
