MRSA deaths could double in five years

Deaths from the superbug MRSA could double in five years as it becomes resistant to the last drug known to beat it, it is claimed today.

Hundreds of people die from methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus-related complications and more are left with open wounds that refuse to heal.

The bug lives on 30per cent of the population without problems but once inside a patient who is vulnerable it can cause fatal complications such as blood poisoning and pneumonia.

A study from the Universities of Bath and Bristol and Southmead Hospital warns of more deaths after showing the bug is increasingly resistant to vancomycin, the "antibiotic of last resort".