MRSA deaths soar by a third in only a year

DEATHS caused by the hospital superbug MRSA have increased by more than a third in only a year, The Scotsman can reveal.

In 2006, there were 51 deaths in which MRSA was recorded as the main cause – up from 38 the previous year.

In total, 213 death certificates mentioned MRSA as either the underlying cause or a contributory factor.

But the microbiologist Professor Hugh Pennington said the real extent of deaths linked to the superbug could be ten times higher than the official figure.

The latest figures on MRSA, from the General Register Office for Scotland, come after The Scotsman revealed in October that deaths from the Clostridium difficile bug had soared by more than 60 per cent last year, leading to 164 deaths.

Campaigners last night called for greater efforts to combat hospital-acquired infections and better recording of deaths involving MRSA.

Linda McCafferty, of the campaign group MRSA Action UK, said she feared the actual number of deaths was even higher than that recorded.

"My mother, Nellie, had MRSA and it was not recorded on her death certificate," she said.

"I think there are a lot more deaths and it is just not being recorded. Doctors need to be making sure MRSA is recorded, whether it is the main cause of death or a contributory factor."

She went on: "There are people who are scared to go into hospital because of these bugs. It is something that people are really worried about."

Prof Pennington, Scotland's leading microbiologist, said he suspected there was "significant under-reporting" of MRSA. "The whole process of death certification is basically flawed," he said. "I would not be surprised if we did a proper study of all deaths in a hospital that we would find the actual number involving MRSA was ten times higher.

"I would like to be proved wrong, but I think a tenfold estimate is a good working hypothesis."

The Scottish Government is to introduce an MRSA screening programme for patients going into hospital.

It has also announced a multi-million-pound fund to reduce infections in hospitals.

Nicola Sturgeon, the health secretary, said: "It is concerning that there has been a rise in reporting of deaths where MRSA was considered to be the underlying cause of death. This should be seen in context, however, and it is most unusual for MRSA infection to be an isolated cause of death – a range of contributory illnesses are normally involved."

She said the Scottish Government took tackling hospital infections "extremely seriously", which was why it had earmarked £39 million for MRSA screening

and a further £15 million over the next three years to tackle hospital infections.

HOSPITAL BUGS COST £183m

INFECTIONS such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile are estimated to cost the NHS in Scotland at least £183 million every year.

A study this year found that almost one in ten patients in Scottish hospitals is suffering from a healthcare-associated infection at any one time.

This is a higher rate than the rest of the UK.

Cutting infections by 30 per cent could save the NHS £55 million a year – enough to pay for an extra 8,000 patients to be treated.