Hospital Infections Falling But New 'Harder To Treat' Strains Appearing

Experts have warned that controlling hospital infections such as salmonella and E.coli must be a priority.

There has been a drop in rates of the superbug MRSA and C. difficile, but other infections like E. coli appear to have taken their place, they say.

Health Protection Agency data on infection rates and antibiotic use by NHS hospitals in England in the autumn of 2011 shows that, overall, infection rates are down but new bacteria are emerging.

While the total prevalence of healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) decreased from 8.2% in 2006 to 6.4% in 2011, much of this decrease was due to lower rates of MRSA and C. difficile - infections that the government has repeatedly targeted with policies.

At the same time, rates of other infections, like E.coli, appear to be rising.

In the 103 hospital trusts surveyed, covering more than 52,000 patients, a total of 3,360 patients (6.4%) had been diagnosed with a healthcare-associated infection.

In a third of cases, bacteria such as salmonella and E.coli - collectively known as coliforms - were the cause, and 12% of these were resistant to the antibiotics normally used to treat these infections.

Experts are concerned that coliforms infections are becoming more prevalent and harder to treat.

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