OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. -- A super bacteria killed a high school football player and now health workers are scrubbing down Liberty High School to make sure the deadly MRSA infection doesn't spread. It's the first case of a student dying of MRSA that Eyewitness News could find on record in Central Florida.

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MRSA INFO: MRSA Facts, Info Prevention From CDC

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MRSA is a staph infection. The super-bug is resistant to most antibiotics and it has really started spreading over the past few years, especially in hospitals and among student athletes. Even healthy people are catching the potentially deadly infection

Experts say MRSA is greatly underestimated and it's spreading quickly. The Liberty High School football team is practicing, but on their minds is the one player who's not there.

Alonzo Smith, 18, died last weekend from MRSA. It starts when bacteria gets into a cut, scrape or break in the skin.

"The pain is very intense. It's basically an infection, but just walking around was almost unbearable," Nate Vieages told Eyewitness News.

Vieages was infected with MRSA last month for the second time. He said it started out as a small bump above his knee and quickly turned into a blister. Vieagas trains in mixed martial arts and thinks he may have picked up the infection at the gym.

"Now I wash all my clothes in hot water and I'm constantly washing my hands," he said.

Eyewitness News has learned the once rare disease is becoming more common in Florida. A lab that tests specimens from across the state found the number of MRSA cases in Florida more than doubled each year between 2003 and 2005.

In 2003, there were 2,880 cases statewide. In 2004, there were 7,096 cases. In 2005, the number of cases jumped to 17,633.

MRSA infections can be deadly when they enter an open wound or develop in people with weakened immune systems. According to the American Medical Association, 18,560 people in the U.S. died from MRSA in 2005. The organization also sites the MRSA death rate is now higher than the AIDS death rate.

Many doctors blame the MRSA increase on overuse of antibiotics. Scientists are working on a vaccine for MRSA, but so far they have been unsuccessful and say the progress is slow

HEALTH WORKERS SCRUBBING DOWN HIGH SCHOOL

Health workers are scrubbing down Liberty High School in Osceola County to make sure no one else gets the deadly infection. Students at Liberty High School went on with their normal day Thursday.

Health officials inspected classrooms and athletic equipment, but said they found nothing to prove the popular football player contracted MRSA on campus.

"You don't test anything. You inspect and tell them if you have deficiencies and fortunately we were very pleased," explained Mercedes Rodriguez, Osceola County Health Department.

The health department said they found the high school was among the cleanest in the district. Clean up crews still spent the day taking precautions, just in case Smith picked up the deadly staph infection in the building.

"The parents should know our school is extremely safe. We are wiping it down and disinfecting," said Dana Schafer, Osceola County Schools.

Disinfectant they're using to clean the building is specifically for killing the bacteria that causes staph infections.

MRSA is common among student athletes, but the health department said they may never find out how Smith caught the infection.

"Many people are carriers. In other words, [they] may have it on their skin and not know it," Rodriguez said.

That's the scary part for parents and students.

One of the worst cases of MRSA in Central Florida happened two years ago to a young mother. Claudia Mejia went to South Seminole Hospital to deliver a baby, but during her stay she was infected with the flesh-eating bacteria. It was so bad, doctors had to amputate both her arms and both her legs.

The baby was fine and Mejia is now suing the hospital and five staff members.