COON RAPIDS, Minn. — At least four Minnesota high-school wrestling teams have had to forfeit sectional meets over concerns about a virus that causes cold sores.
The schools are North St. Paul, Cambridge-Isanti, Minnewaska and Benson. They all forfeited meets scheduled for this weekend due to concerns over herpes gladiatorum.
That's a highly contagious virus that causes skin irritation and cold sores. It can be passed by skin-to-skin contact.
The teams that forfeited meets won't be eligible for the state tournament. However, individual wrestlers can be eligible if they're cleared by a doctor.
A similar outbreak in 2007 led officials to cancel all high-school wrestling for eight days.
