MRSA superbug cases down by a third in a year

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MRSA cases have fallen by 13 per cent in the last quarter - and by 33 per cent compared with the same period last year, figures showed today.

Official data from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) showed there were 725 cases in July to September - down 13 per cent on the previous quarter, when there were 837 reports.

The latest figures reveal a 33 per cent drop on the same quarter in 2007, when there were 1,082 cases, the HPA said.

Professor Mike Catchpole, director of the HPA's centre for infections, said: "This continued reduction in cases of MRSA is testament to the huge efforts being made across the NHS to tackle the problem of healthcare-associated infections, which remain a big challenge throughout the world.

"To ensure this downward trend continues, we cannot be complacent. We must all play our part - the public and healthcare workers - by ensuring the infection control measures that have made the current fight against MRSA so successful remain in place."

Anna Walker, chief executive of the Healthcare Commission, said: "This is big news for patients and a huge credit to all NHS staff.

"The sustained reductions show that the NHS is coming to grips with MRSA - it must not lose the momentum.

"We are clear NHS trusts are taking infection prevention and control very seriously.

"This has played a key role in the decline in MRSA rates.

"We have seen from our inspections and assessments that many trusts still have gaps in their systems that need closing. To keep rates going down, trusts must ensure their systems protect every patient, every time.

"This applies to all healthcare-associated infections, not just MRSA.

"We are demanding a high standard of infection control from trusts. This is what patients expect and are entitled to."