30/01/07 MRSA and Clostridium difficile

There were 42,625 cases of Clostridium difficile infection in patients aged 65 years and above in England in the first three quarters of 2006, according to the figures on mandatory surveillance published by the Health Protection Agency. This represents an increase of 5.5% over the same period in 2005, when there were 40,390 cases reported. While this is a smaller increase than seen previously, rates of infection remain high across England , particularly in small acute trusts, and the results show clearly the scope for improvement. The latest MRSA bloodstream infection figures, show that there were 3,391 cases of MRSA bloodstream infection reported in England from April - September 2006, down 5.0% from the same period in 2005. The MRSA rate from April - September 2006 was 1.69 cases per 10,000 bed days. Since the surveillance started in April 2001, rates have fluctuated between 1.69 and 1.88 cases per 10,000 bed days. (Health Protection Agency - press release, DH - press release, BBC news item)