Number of MRSA deaths falls sharply

The superbug MRSA is in retreat, the latest government figures show.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus killed 484 people in England and Wales in 2010, as compared to four times that number four years earlier.

MRSA is a bacterium responsible for several infections, and has developed resistance to antibiotics, including penicillins and cephalosporins.

The bug is widespread in hospitals and nursing homes, attacking patients with weakened immune systems and open wounds.

Data from the Office for National Statistics data showed the numbers of deaths fell 38 per cent from 2009 to 2010. The recorded peak of deaths was 1,652 in 2006.

The data also shows that deaths caused by clostridium difficile are falling.

Clostridium difficile, also known as C. diff, is a bacteria that causes severe diarrhoea when competing bacteria in the gut flora have been wiped out by antibiotics.

There were 2,704 deaths linked to the infection, down from the 8,324 recorded in 2007.

Both bugs most affect those over the age of 85.

Twenty-five UK hospital trusts have been free of MRSA for a year, and the number of monthly cases dropped below 100 for the first time in June.

This article was published on Wed 24 August 2011