Written question asked by Huw Edwards (Labour) on Monday, 20 March 2000, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 3 April 2000. It was answered by Yvette Cooper (Labour) on Monday, 3 April 2000 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will commission an independent inquiry into the incidence of MRSA; what was the incidence of MRSA in hospitals in England and Wales for 1996. - Inc figures.

Answer: Mr. Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will commission an independent inquiry into the incidence of MRSA; [115928] (2) what was the incidence of MRSA in hospitals in England and Wales for 1996. [115927] Yvette Cooper: MRSA is the antibiotic-resistant form of Staphylococcus aureus, a bacterium which is carried harmlessly on the skin by at least a third of the population. About 80 per cent. of the population who acquire MRSA similarly carry it harmlessly on the skin and do not suffer from any infection. Neither the number of hospitals recording MRSA outbreaks nor the total number of patients in National Health Service hospitals who have MRSA are recorded centrally. The Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) compiles aggregate data on numbers of incidents of MRSA which are voluntarily reported by NHS trusts. The available data on MRSA for England and Wales show that there were 2,107 reported incidents in 1996. An incident is three or more patients infected or colonised by the same strain of MRSA in the same month from the same hospital. We are working with the PHLS on improving surveillance systems so as to provide more complete data on MRSA and so that we can consider what further action is required.

Secondary information