Scientists urged to help fight superbug

Health Secretary John Reid has called on the scientific community to help in the fight against hospital superbug MRSA.

He addressed a London summit of experts from here and abroad who are examining developments in tackling the growing problem.

Recommendations from the Science Summit will influence how a £3million research fund is allocated. Infections caught inside hospitals are known to kill 5,000 people a year.

Methilicin-resistant staphylococcus aureus causes problems because most antibiotics cannot clear it.

It is mostly found in hospitals where patients with wounds and intravenous drips are at most risk. One in 10 in-patients contract an infection during their stay costing the NHS ?1billion a year. The growth in the number of MRSA cases has been blamed on the widespread use of antibiotics, people not finishing their course of drugs, and medicines used in food production. Dirty hospitals have also been targeted.

Dr Reid told the two-day summit at the Royal College of Pathology that scientists must help to translate research into practical measures, and he revealed the latest products being evaluated by the Health Protection Agency's expert panel.