NEW YORK ( CNN ) -- The death of a 12-year-old student in Brooklyn from the staph infection MRSA has prompted fear among parents and students throughout the New York City school system , forcing officials to respond . Omar Rivera , 12 , a New York seventh-grader , died of drug-resistant staph on October 14 . Omar Rivera , a seventh-grader at Intermediate School 211 , died October 14 from the infection , according to the New York City school superintendent , but investigators were unable to confirm where he contracted the infection . MRSA is short for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus , and is responsible for more deaths in the United States each year than AIDS , according to new data . `` There 's often no way to know how an individual person got the infection , '' said New York City Health Commissioner Tom Frieden . `` An infection in a child like this is extremely rare . Fatal infections in children is in the order of 1 in a million . It 's a terrible tragedy and our hearts go out to the family . '' The Office of School Health sent letters to parents Thursday , notifying them of Rivera 's death . Despite assurances from health officials that Rivera 's death was an isolated incident , several parents decided to keep their children out of IS 211 , which opened at its normal time Friday after the disclosure of Rivera 's death Thursday , as it has every day since the death . Watch more on the student 's death » . The Heath Department said in its statement , `` We have no reason to believe that other children or school employees are at increased risk of staph infection . '' But department officials advised in a press conference Friday that people should limit skin-to-skin contact , wash their hands regularly and not share items such as towels and razors . Nearly nine out of every 10 resistant staph infections are hospital or health-care related , Frieden said . `` Hospitals are taking it seriously and need to continue to improve the way they prevent and treat staph infections , '' he said . According to the CDC , 25 to 30 percent of the population carry the staph bacteria -- one of the most common causes of infection . While such infections are typically minor , invasive MRSA infections , because they are caused by drug-resistant staph , can become fatal . Dr. Julie Gerberding , the director of the CDC , says these infections are not new . `` It 's important to appreciate that many of these infections are the same infections moms have been dealing with for decades . They 're very preventable , '' she says . `` If you see a skin infection that looks like the redness is getting bigger or if it 's associated with a lot of swelling around the wound or if the individual has a fever , those are reasons to definitely seek doctor 's attention . But most of the time these are things that can be treated with the same kind of common sense approach that is we 've been using for years . '' Pat Mshar , an epidemiologist for Connecticut 's Department of Health , emphasized that the highest rate of MRSA deaths -- 58 percent -- is found in hospitals . `` The healthy person in the community -- like the high school student -- generally is going to be able to be treated adequately without adverse outcome , '' she said . So long as an infected student seeks treatment , covers open cuts or lesions and avoids direct skin contact with other students , `` it 's OK to go to school . '' She noted that recent reports of MRSA numbers and the student deaths has heightened concern . `` Parents are more aware of MRSA now than they ever were before , '' she said . For more information , see MayoClinic.com 's Q & A on MRSA , Centers for Disease Control 's Invasive MRSA Fact Sheet , its advice on MRSA in schools and the Journal of the American Medical Association 's Patient Page on MRSA.. E-mail to a friend .
NEW : One student 's death from drug - resistant staph infection confirmed . NEW : School is unable to identify where student contracted infection . No reason to believe other students or teachers are at risk , department says . 25 to 30 % of the population carry the same bacteria , according to CDC .