More Minn. schools report herpes cases 2 hours, 26 minutes ago
ST. PAUL - Six more schools have reported cases of herpes among Minnesota high school wrestlers. The mild form of herpes was found in 16 additional wrestlers after the Minnesota State High School League shut down the sport last week because of the virus. So far, 16 teams and 40 wrestlers have reported infections of the skin-to-skin virus. Symptoms have included lesions on the face, head and neck of wrestlers.
The high school league imposed an eight-day ban on practice and competition after herpes gladiatorum was diagnosed in several wrestlers. Despite the new cases, teams were scheduled to resume practices and matches Wednesday, said Craig Perry, associate director at the league who oversees wrestling.
"You can never say there's no more risk, but the suspension is done," Perry said. "It accomplished what it was intended to accomplish. ... We've been able to isolate those cases that come out of this. It helped us and it helped our programs."
The source of the outbreak hasn't been determined. It was thought that it might have originated with wrestlers from Valentine High School in Nebraska who had competed in a meet in Rochester. (editor's note:
) But examinations of the Nebraska wrestlers showed no evidence of herpes.
Perry said it will be up to the individiual schools to decide on when, or if, they make up for the lost matches this season. He said some have already rescheduled some meets for this weekend.
