Superbug infection deaths fall
Feb 29 2008 by Audrey Barton, The Journal
THE North East is bucking the national trend for deaths involving hospital superbugs, according to new figures.
The Office for National Statistics released figures for deaths involving the Clostridium difficile bug known as C diff and MRSA for 2006 yesterday in the Health Statistics Quarterly 2008.
The number of death certificates mentioning C diff in the North East dropped to 207 during 2006 compared to 222 the previous year despite a national rise of 72%.
It is the first time they have dropped since the statistics were compiled in 1999. Of the 207, it was the underlying cause in 118 deaths.
Death certificates which mention MRSA in the region reported a slight rise to 82 in 2006 from 78 the previous year as national numbers have levelled out. Of the 82, it was the underlying cause in 23 deaths.
A spokeswoman for the region’s strategic health authority NHS North East said it was difficult to draw firm conclusions from the results.
“However, we do know that cases of both infections are continuing to fall in the region. We recognise that there is no room for complacency and prevention of infection remains one of the highest priorities for local health services.
“The strategic health authority is working in partnership with all NHS organisations in the North East to maintain this focus and to ensure a continued drive for improvement.”
Nationally the number of deaths involving C diff continued to rise between 2005 and 2006, while deaths involving MRSA levelled out.
The number of death certificates in England and Wales that mentioned C diff infection rose from 3,757 in 2005 to 6,480 in 2006, an increase of 72%. Some of the increase in deaths involving C diff may be due to more complete reporting on death certificates.
Among deaths with a mention of C diff the percentage for which it was the underlying cause has been similar – around 55% – in each year since 1999. The number of death certificates that mentioned MRSA stabilised at 1,652 in 2006. This follows a sustained increase in MRSA-related deaths from 51 in 1993 to 1,649 in 2005.
