MRSA Action UK: 2010-Battling the Superbugs

Monday, 4 October 2010 12:00 AM

MRSA Action UK welcomed the Health Secretary's announcement in June that he was to extend the screening and testing of bacteria to MSSA and E.coli.

We have consistently campaigned for the extension of the testing regime introduced by his predecessor John Reid back in 2005 for MRSA and then Clostridium difficile because these bacteria only account for a small proportion of the microbiological burden in our hospitals.

To MRSA Action UK it was clear that while we concentrated on these two bacteria, and quite rightly at the time, it was evident that other pathogens were going unrecorded and causing patients as much pain and distress along with inevitable loss of life.

As an organisation that supports victims of avoidable healthcare infections we fully support and endorse the Health Secretary's reaffirmation that all hospitals will have to record and publish their MSSA infection rates from January 2011; however we are saddened that the commitment to testing for E.coli will be delayed.

Hospitals can screen and test for MSSA now as they test for MRSA on a routine basis. One such hospital that has taken on the decision to screen for MSSA routinely both for elective and emergency admissions is Blackpool Victoria Hospital in Lancashire. The hospital has shown that while they were routinely screening for MRSA from 2008 they saw a huge reduction in MRSA bacteraemias, MSSA rates were not reducing.

In fact the hospital said that the MSSA rates were five times higher than their MRSA infection rates so the introduction of the MSSA screening and testing should have a bigger impact and improve patient care.

The key to this success at Blackpool Victoria we believe is that the Trust has introduced rapid PCR testing which gives a result in two hours and therefore saves time and the patient receives the appropriate treatment effectively and efficiently.

MRSA Action UK has serious concerns that although we are moving in the right direction in extending the testing to other bacteria, the latest figures show that there has been a consistent rise in cases of MSSA and E.coli infections in our hospitals over the past ten years and we must remember that there are still other pathogens that cause serious infections for which there is very little treatment in the form of antibiotics.

We are concerned that the planned recording of the data for these two pathogens will only be bacteraemias which account for a tiny percentage of these infections. We need to be recording and publishing all healthcare infection sites for these pathogens so that we can keep track of their movements and spread. Only then will we be able to say we are beginning to keep infections in our hospitals under control. We must not forget to turn our attention to healthcare infections in primary care and in the community, which currently account for two out of every three infections when you examine the latest Health Protection Agency data on MRSA bacteraemias and Clostridium difficile infections.

The Government and the Health Secretary need to place more emphasis not just on prevention but on research into the bacteria and how resistance is built up to antibiotics, but more importantly in helping pharmaceutical companies develop the next generation of antimicrobials and research with vaccines. There are very few antimicrobials in the pipeline for gram positive bacteria such as MSSA. For gram negative bacteria such as E.coli there are no antimicrobials in development or likely to be for many years to come.

Derek Butler
Chair
MRSA Action UK
Registered Charity No. 1115672
http://mrsaactionuk.net
Tel No 07762 741114
Email: derek.butler@mrsaactionuk.net

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