WASHINGTON -- An 11-year-old girl who died three weeks ago at an area hospital had methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

The death of Dionshae Robinson, a Bunker Hill Elementary School fifth-grader, has not been linked to the infection. She had been in the hospital for more than a month because of an unrelated illness.

According to the D.C. Department of Health, there is no indication of an outbreak at Bunker Hill. The students there are in no more danger of contracting MRSA than students at any other school.

The school sent a letter to parents on Monday to alert them of the situation.

Under privacy laws, officials said they can't confirm whether the patient was Robinson or give details about the cause of her death.

The letter sent home to parents said only that a case of the staph infection had been confirmed at the school.

The lack of information prompted confusion and concern among parents. Nathan Saunders, the vice president of the Washington Teacher's Union, went to the school on Monday night to talk to the principal about parents' concerns.

MRSA infections are staph infections that do not respond to common antibiotics. They are spread by skin-to-skin contact, contact with drainage from the nose of an infected person or contact with contaminated objects like clothing, towels and soap.

The infections can look like a pimple or a boil and be red, swollen, painful and have drainage.

Parents are advised to contact their child's doctor if they see suspicious wounds.

Doctors referred to the diagnosed case as "isolated."