MRSA in hospitals - Making progress

MRSA infection in Irish hospitals costs over €23m a year, the bones of €500,000 a week.

The human cost can be even more significant as a report published yesterday points out that doctors are obliged to report cases but they need not report the consequences — whether the patient died of the condition or not. This means data is at best incomplete or at worst compromised.

The report, funded by Pfizer, also recommended a reduction in the overuse of antibiotics. There has been a sustained campaign by hospital managers to control the bacterium and this programme is showing positive results. Let us hope this trend continues as the idea of someone getting sick in a hospital is unacceptable.