WICHITA, Kansas, Oct. 17th, 2007 – A deadly strain of staph infections are turning up in classrooms across the country. In Bedford, Virginia 21 schools shut down after a high school student died from a drug resistant strain of staph. In Mississippi, doctors say the same infection killed an 11 year old girl last week. Now Kansas parents are on alert.

As a school nurse, Tracy Mayfield is a habitual hand washer. With this new threat of staph, she is reminding her students to do the same thing.

"Communicable disease prevention is always a big part of our job," Mayfield said. "So we're working lots with hand washing, teaching our kids to wash their hands properly, teaching to wash them frequently."

Staph infections are common. But now, there are drug resistant stains of the infection that are proving to be deadly. According to a new government study released Tuesday, as many as 19,000 people die each year of staph-related complications.

Some have blamed this increase on an overuse of anti-bacterial products. But the biggest problem is actually happening in hospitals, where doctors are over prescribing anti-biotic medication.

Experts say its created a "superbug", or bacteria that won't die off when treated with medications. That's why early treatment is key. So if you notice a skin irritation, and develop a fever; see a doctor right away.

"If you can catch it when it's the pimple stage," Doctor Tana Goering, KSN Medical Expert, said. "Hopefully we are going to eliminate some of the more severe causes. But like I said it can become very aggressive and in a short period of time can go from a minor problem to something life threatening."

Some say if rates continue to climb, deaths related to staph infections may one day exceed those caused by AIDS or HIV. But doctors hope recent warnings will stop that trend.