§ Dr. GibsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many strains of the MRSA bacterium have been isolated. [163761]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe total number of strains is not known, but the Health Protection Agency receives around 7,000 methicillin resistantStaphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains a year for typing on a voluntary basis to assist in the investigation of serious disease and outbreak investigation and control. Most hospital outbreaks in the United Kingdom are due to "epidemic" 1670W strains of MRSA, which can spread from person to person. A total of 17 epidemic strains have been identified in the UK to date and two strains, EMRSA 15 and EMRSA 16, predominate.