The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 274 No 7355 p782
25 June 2005

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MRSA infection rates fall

Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection rates have decreased, according to official surveillance figures released this week by the Department of Health.

In the six months from October 2004 to March 2005 there were 3,688 MRSA bloodstream infections compared with 3,940 in the same period in 2003-04, a 6.4 per cent drop. Overall, there has been a 6.1 per cent fall in MRSA blood infections over the past year.

The data show that MRSA infection rates decreased most in larger specialist hospitals, which had an average drop of 11.2 per cent. There was a 1.2 per cent overall drop in infection rates for general acute hospitals but some hospitals still showed an increase in infection rates over the year.