Four people a week catch MRSA in Mersey hospitals

Nov 2 2007 by David Higgerson, Liverpool Daily Post

AROUND five people a week are contracting the superbug MRSA in the region’s hospitals, latest figures have revealed.

Health chiefs across Merseyside and Cheshire said the falling figures showed that a strong push on keeping wards clean was working.

The figures from the Health Protection Agency show that between October last year and March this year – the last full six month for which figures are available – 128 cases were reported in the region.

That is down from 176 for the same period in 05/06.

Last night, regional infection expert Dr Catherine Quigley said she was “cautiously optimistic” about the MRSA figures, but still concerned about the levels of C. diff, another potentially killer hospital superbug, being recorded in the North West.

In total, 2,157 cases of C. diff were recorded in patients aged 65 and over in North West hospitals from April to June, 2007, a 19% decrease on the previous quarter’s (January-March, 2007) figure of 2,653 cases.

However, the April-June figure was 11% up on the same quarter of 2006, when 1,951 cases were reported.

Dr Quigley said: “There have been very evident reductions this year, which reflects the priority that has been given to reducing health care-associated infections generally.

“However, I remain concerned about current levels of C. diff, despite a significant reduction in reported cases in the period April-June this year.

“We’re still seeing high levels of this infection despite everyone’s best efforts and much hard work remains to be done.”

The hospital with the highest number of MRSA cases in the last full six-month reporting period in Merseyside and Cheshire was the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen Hospitals NHS Trust, with 29.

Dr Godfrey Smith, consultant microbiologist and lead doctor for Infection Prevention and Control, said: “Today’s announcement shows that the positive steps we are taking to reduce MRSA is having an impact. We have introduced further steps to reduce C. diff in our hospitals and we envisage that these will take some more time to show through and bring about a reduction.

“That does not mean we can sit back and relax, however. We still have a lot to do, and I remain committed to ensuring that we become one of the top performing hospitals in the country on this issue in the next year.”

But the hospital where statistically you are most likely to contract MRSA, based on the number of cases reported against the number of patients and beds in a hospital, was the Countess of Chester. It recorded 2.16 cases per 10,000 “bed days”.

Wirral had one of the lowest rates against patient activity, with a record of 0.93 cases per 10,000 bed days.

The control and prevention of healthcare-acquired infections remains one of Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust’s highest priorities.

Dr John Cunniffe, acting director of Infection Prevention and Control, said: “It is pleasing to note that our track record in this area remains strong compared to the regional average.

“Our MRSA rate during 2006 stood at 1.16 patients per 10,000 bed days, one of the lowest in the region. In addition, the number of cases recorded has fallen over the last 18 months – from 34 between October, 2005, and March, 2006, to 14 between October, 2006, and March, 2007.

“Cases of C. diff in patients aged 65 and over have also fallen – from 178 in the previous quarter to 133 between April and June, 2007.

“We recognise this is an important issue for patients and that further work is required to improve our performance, particularly with regards to C difficile.”

davidhiggerson