Sen. Charles Schumer on Sunday called for a national reporting system to track cases of the so-called staph superbug and treat them faster.

Schumer, D-N.Y., said if the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were able to track cases of MRSA – or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus – federal officials could better inform local agents about how to prevent the staph infection from spreading.

“When they find one case they’ll be able to blanket the area and make sure that it’s not spreading,” Schumer said. “It hasn’t been done before because it’s all been confined to hospitals and they know what to do.”

A 12-year-old Brooklyn boy and a 17-year-old Virginia high school student died this month after contracting MRSA infections. Other nonlethal cases have been reported, but health officials say there is no outbreak and that infections are treatable.

Medical experts say the best way to prevent MRSA from spreading is with frequent and diligent hand washing.