§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will name the non-national health service hospitals which have reported methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus infections; [17088]
550W(2) how monitoring of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus infection in private hospitals, residential and nursing home care is conducted; and what protection from expulsion and exclusion from such facilities is available to clients; [17089]
(3) what number of United Kingdom hospitals have been infected with methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus; what percentage this is of all United Kingdom hospitals; and what mechanism is available to advise the public of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus outbreaks; [17084]
(4) how many persons are known to have been infected, within NHS hospitals, by methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus; and what was the total number of persons infected in the last 12 months for which figures are available; [17085]
(5) if he will name the hospitals in England and Wales which have recorded cases of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus and the number of cases at each hospital. [17086]
§ Mr. HoramThe public health laboratory service maintains aggregate data on MRSA as part of its national surveillance of communicable disease and infection, compiled from requests submitted by hospitals—both NHS and private—and from the community for the typing of isolates. These aggregate data do not identify individual hospitals or patients.
Information about an outbreak of MRSA will be provided, as required, by the hospital's "Outbreak Control Group".
MRSA is an uncommon cause of infection in the community. However, we shall shortly be issuing guidance on MRSA and infection control in general to the managers of residential and nursing homes and their registration officers.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department has issued on avoidance of cross contamination of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus in NHS patients. [17087]
§ Mr. HoramI refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Carmarthen (Mr. Williams) on 22 January,Official Report, columns 16–17.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department is currently undertaking into the incidence of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus; and how many strains have been detected. [17083]
§ Mr. HoramI refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Carmarthen (Mr. Williams) on 22 January,Official Report, columns 15–16. The public health laboratory service has described 16 strains of epidemic methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many deaths in the last 12 months for which figures are available resulted from methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus infection. [17092]
551W
§ Mr. HoramIn 1994, the latest year for which figures are available, there were a total of 102 deaths from staphylococcal infection, of which eight resulted from methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus.