Ministers hail drop in superbug cases

Ministers will today hail a drop in the numbers of people catching the hospital "superbug" MRSA.

But opposition leaders and campaigners will immediately question the data, which conflicts with figures released only last week.

Health Secretary John Reid welcomed the new research from the Health Protection Agency today which is expected to show that infection rates are at their lowest point since 2001 - hailing it as a turning point in the fight against the bug.

In the six months to last September, the number of MRSA infections dropped from 3,940 to 3,519. The Government will claim the reduction proves that the clampdown on hand-washing on wards, faster testing of suspected carriers and isolation measures in hospitals are working.

Dr Reid said MRSA would remain a priority and no stone was being left unturned in the bid to find a solution.

The Health Secretary called on politicians who had condemned the NHS when MRSA rates were rising to now congratulate it.

However, the Conservatives said the conclusions were "debatable" because the data from the HPA does not cover a whole year and any "marginal" drop in rates does not reflect the huge effort the Government has put into tackling the problem.

Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said the announcement smacked of pre-election trickery.

Just last week other figures, from the Office for National Statistics, suggested rates of MRSA infection were in fact up 20 per cent.

MRSA kills at least 5,000 people a year, but campaigners say actual fatalities are likely to be at least double this number because the infection is often not recorded on death certificates.