Soldier dies from rare superbug

Fears of a new superbug taking hold in Britain grew today after a Marine recruit died from the infection.

Richard Campbell-Smith, 18, died three days after the "extremely rare" MRSAlinked toxin entered his body through a scratch on his leg.

A medical expert at his inquest in Exeter said the disease was thought to have died out in the Fifties but she had seen two cases in nine weeks.

A spokeswoman for the Health Protection Agency said the toxin, panton valentine leukocidin (PVL), was extremely rare but added: "If clinicians suspect patients may have this infection, they can send us the patient's sample for us to test."

The 18-year-old scratched his legs while running on 31 October last year. He was admitted to the medical unit at the Commando Training Centre in Lympstone, Devon, and later taken to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, where he died on 2 November. A post mortem showed he died of heart and respiratory failure, and traces of PVL were found.