RICHMOND -- Schools across the country are reporting outbreaks of staph infections, including an antibiotic-resistant strain, prompting officials to issue reminders about the importance of thorough hand washing and other preventive measures.

Many of the infections are being spread in gyms and locker rooms, where football players and other athletes -- perhaps suffering from cuts or abrasions -- share sports equipment, officials say. Staphylococcus aureus bacteria infections generally are not life-threatening.

However, the Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strain can be especially stubborn. MRSA, pronounced "mersa," resists treatment with penicillin and related antibiotics but can be treated with other drugs. MRSA got its foothold in hospitals and in recent years has spread to other community settings, including schools.

A Newport News high school closed its weight room Thursday after at least four students were infected -- at least one of them with MRSA, local school and health officials said. The MRSA patient, a football player, was hospitalized Sunday and released Wednesday.

Several students also have been infected with staph in Bedford, Campbell and Roanoke counties and Galax, officials said, and one Bedford County student required hospitalization.

Roanoke City Public Schools sent a letter home to parents Wednesday alerting them to the recent reports of MRSA in the region's schools and telling them the steps the school system was taking to try to prevent MRSA infections. Parents were also given an information sheet on MRSA from the Virginia Department of Health.

The Virginia Department of Education and the health department do not compile staph infection data. However, state public schools spokesman Charles Pyle said the department's health specialist has received about eight calls regarding the problem since school started after receiving only two calls all of last fall.

"We're not viewing this as something to be overly alarmed about," Pyle said.

He said the department will send information about prevention and treatment to Virginia's 132 school districts for distribution to schools and parents.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta also has no national data on staph infections but is aware that it seems more widespread, spokeswoman Nicole Coffin said.

"Most of these are mild infections," she said. "They can be as simple as a pimple or a boil, or as serious as a blood infection."

MRSA is spread mostly through personal contact, she said, although sharing personal items or equipment used by an infected person also can spread the bacteria.

Frequent and thorough hand washing is one of the most important preventive measures, she said. Also, open wounds should be covered and people should avoid sharing items such as towels and razors.

Virginia is not the only state experiencing a rash of infections.

In neighboring Maryland, more than two dozen staph infections have been reported by four Anne Arundel County high schools over the past three weeks.

In Ohio, staph infections have been reported recently in several school districts. Health officials in North Carolina and Florida also reported increases in staph infections.

Pennsylvania health officials have received "scattered reports" of infections at schools but don't view the situation as a major public health threat, state Health Department spokeswoman Stacy Kriedeman said.

The Roanoke Times contributed to this report.