LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- A letter sent home to parents revealed information about several cases of an antibiotic-resistant skin infection among players of the Lakewood High School football and girls' soccer teams.

The letter sent out by Lakewood City School District officials said there were three confirmed cases of community acquired methicillin-resistant mtaphylococcus aureus.

According to the letter, six additional students probably had the infection, and nine more were considered likely and are under close review.

MRSA is a bacterium that is resistant to many antibiotics and frequently causes skin infections. Common signs of skin infection include redness, warmth, swelling, tenderness of the skin, and boils or blisters. MRSA can be contracted and transmitted through skin-to-skin contact and through shared items such as towels and athletic equipment, the letter said.

All locker rooms and the weight room were thoroughly and repeatedly cleaned and sanitized. Cultures taken since the cleaning have tested negative for MRSA.