The Allegheny County Health Department will test the turf and field house at Mt. Lebanon High School stadium to see if they harbor the bacteria that are causing drug-resistant staph infections among the school's football players.

Ten cases of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, infections have been confirmed at the high school, nine of them among football players with the 10th a student-athlete from another team. Three more students with suspected cases are being tested and one case has been confirmed at Jefferson Middle School.

Two of the students were hospitalized for treatment of the infections but have since recovered, said district spokeswoman Cissy Bowman.

Mt. Lebanon is one of 17 school districts in the county reporting MRSA infections, said Guillermo Cole, health department spokesman.

Countywide, he said, 104 MRSA infections have been reported this year, about half of them among children and teens. Last year, 55 cases were reported in the county. Mr. Cole said the increase could be due to better reporting and diagnosis.

While pediatricians have been required since January 2006 to report cases of MRSA to the health department, school districts do it voluntarily, Mr. Cole said.

MRSA is a stubborn type of infection that is resistant to antibiotics that kill other types of staph infections. There are two types: hospital-acquired and community-acquired.

The more serious, hospital-acquired, occurs among people who are in or have been treated at hospitals, and can be fatal. It occurs most often among the elderly or sick.

Community-acquired occurs among otherwise healthy adults and children. It is generally a skin infection, characterized by boils, pimples or painful bumps on the skin. In the majority of cases it remains a skin infection; however, it can travel to other parts of the body if it is left untreated or is a particularly severe strain, Mr. Cole said.

In local schools, community-acquired MRSA infections appear mainly among athletes. Particularly hard hit are football players because of the numerous abrasions they develop. MRSA infections develop when staph enters the skin through a cut or abrasion.

The infections are spread by direct physical contact or through indirect contact, including sharing towels, sheets, sports equipment, clothing or other items.

Health department officials agreed to testing at the Mt. Lebanon turf and field house during a meeting with parents in Mt. Lebanon Tuesday night, Mr. Cole said. He stressed that the department is performing the tests at the request of parents, not because health officials proposed it.

Mr. Cole said there appeared to be particular concern that staph germs could be in the turf at the football field because Mt. Lebanon has had MRSA cases in three of the past four years.

"We [health department officials] maintain that a turf field is no more likely to breed MRSA than any other surface," Mr. Cole said.

He said of the districts that have reported cases this year, Mt. Lebanon's total of 10 and possibly 13 cases is "on the high side."

School district officials organized Tuesday's meeting because they were concerned about misinformation in the community about MRSA and to give an update on the status of infections in the schools and "provide an opportunity for experts from the health department to talk about prevention and treatment," Ms. Bowman said.

Invited to the meeting were parents of student-athletes at the high school and Jefferson Middle School. About 75 people attended.

District officials outlined the measures they are taking to prevent the infection, which include a daily morning and evening cleaning and sanitizing of the locker rooms and a night "fogging" of the locker rooms.

The district has hired a towel service to ensure that towels are not reused or shared by members of the football team, Ms. Bowman said. Other measures include hand sanitizers in locker, weight and training rooms and use of the cafeteria dishwasher to clean water coolers and bottles used by teams.

In addition, student-athletes must empty their lockers of all equipment and clothing each night and bring clean clothing for practice each day.

The district also plans to do air quality tests, Ms. Bowman said.

Ms. Bowman said that several parents at Tuesday's meeting told health officials that their pediatricians initially didn't recognize the infections as MRSA and treatment to their children was delayed.

As a result, the district is hoping to create a form letter for student-athletes to take when the visit a doctor for a skin infection.

MRSA infections are diagnosed by doctors swabbing the infected area and having a culture grown.

Mr. Cole said students with the infections are permitted to continue to attend school and participate in sports if the infections are treated and the wounds covered.

Ms. Bowman said all of the infected students are able to participate in their games.