NEW YORK - Sen. Charles Schumer called for a nationwide reporting system for the antibiotic-resistant strain of staph infection blamed for the death of a 12-year-old Brooklyn boy.

“We need all hands on deck and all eyes watching to ensure this superbug doesn't pop up again and leading to the same tragic outcome,” Schumer said Sunday. “Unfortunately, without labs and hospitals reporting MRSA infections, we'll never know where the next case could pop up or if we have things fully under control.”

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, or MRSA, has gained attention since a government report this month found more than 90,000 Americans get potentially deadly staph infections each year.

The bacteria can be carried by healthy people, living on their skin or in their noses. Most drug-resistant staph cases are mild skin infections, but severe infections can enter the bloodstream or destroy flesh and become deadly.

The bacteria don't respond to penicillin-related antibiotics once commonly used to treat them, but they can be treated with other drugs.

Brooklyn middle school student Omar Rivera had lesions on his legs and back, friends said.

He was taken on Oct. 14 to Brookdale Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Schumer, D-N.Y., said he is working on legislation to strengthen surveillance and data collection of infections and to promote research into the overuse of antibiotics, which can lead to the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria.

Schumer said he would also introduce legislation to provide incentives to researchers to help find new treatments for MRSA and other so-called “superbugs.”

MRSA is spread mostly through personal contact, although sharing towels, razors or athletic equipment also can spread the bacteria.

It is not known where Omar contracted the deadly bug.

State Assemblyman Dov Hikind, D-Brooklyn, said Sunday that schools should step up their efforts to combat staph infections by requiring all students to cover cuts and scrapes with a bandage or risk being sent home.

“We must take more stringent precautions with New York's student population for the safety of all schoolchildren,” Hikind said. “Parents must be vigilant with what used to be normal childhood and adolescent scrapes and cuts. Any cut or break in the skin must be appropriately treated and covered.”