Don Bosco Prep cancelled its scrimmage against Pope John on Friday due to an outbreak of the Coxsackie virus within its team.
Don Bosco Prep cancelled its scrimmage against Pope John on Friday due to an outbreak of coxsackievirus within its team.
About 15 Ironmen have been infected by the virus, according to NorthJersey.com. As a result, Don Bosco Prep will not hold team activities until Monday, while the school and Bergen County health officials sanitize to the locker room and turf field.
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“We are pretty confident that it was a locker room issue,” Don Bosco Prep principal John Stanczak told NorthJersey.com. “The locker room couldn’t have gotten a better sanitation job, so we will give it some time to air out, and we have talked to our kids about how to avoid having the infection spread.”
Coxsackievirus is commonly associated with hand, foot and mouth disease, which often causes mouth sores and fever, according to the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention website. Treatment is limited to symptom relief. Transmission can be reduced with hand washing and disinfecting.
The Ironmen will begin their state title defense on Sept. 2 in Florida with a game against American Heritage. That game will not be affected by the outbreak, according to NorthJersey.com.
Matt Stypulkoski may be reached at mstypulkoski@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @M_Stypulkoski. Like NJ.com High School Sports on Facebook.