§ Keith VazTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people contacted MRSA and in which hospitals in 2001. [77963]
§ Ms BlearsThese figures are not available as information on Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) infections, apart from MRSA blood stream infections, is not collated centrally. Mandatory reporting of MRSA blood stream infections was introduced for all acute national health service trusts on 1 April 2001 and data are routinely published. Results by individual trust for the first year of this scheme (April 2001 to March 2002) were published in the Communicable Disease Report Weekly on 20 June 2002 and are available on the Public Health Laboratory Service website www.phls.co.uk/publications/cdr/PDFfiles/2002/cdr2502.pdf.