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Top e-government news, updated daily, and regular features from the top people in the public sector.
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| 'MRSA affected 147 children' |
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Scores of babies and children suffered potentially fatal blood infections last year after contracting MRSA, the Health Protection Agency has found.
Following a two-year inquiry commissioned by the Government, the HPA said 147 youngsters were affected by the superbug last year at NHS hospitals.
The results will be discussed at the HPA's annual three-day conference, Health Protection 2006, which begins later at the University of Warwick.
More than three-quarters of youngsters in the study were less than a year old - four out of ten of those were under the age of one month.
In 2004, the provisional figure for blood stream infections caused by MRSA in children under 16 years of age was 76 - in 2005 that figure appears to have almost doubled.
However, the HPA says the two figures are not comparable as the latest study covers all of the UK and Ireland, whereas the 2004 research looked at England and Wales only.
The system of gathering data is also different to earlier research, a HPA spokeswoman said, adding that the health body has been more proactive in gathering information than in previous years, resulting in more cases being reported.
The spokeswoman said: "The important thing is that we use this research to look at the extent of MRSA poisoning in children and babies.
"It is difficult for us to form a conclusion about the first year of research because we do not have any baseline to compare this figure against.
"The hope is that the research will be ongoing and we will be able to look at it in years to come and help hospitals see where the brunt of infections are and how to prevent them."
Over 1,000 health and scientific experts from a range of fields including infection control, public health, infectious diseases and environmental health are expected to attend.
Speakers include experts from the HPA and academics from a range of leading universities.
Topics being discussed include health responses to emergency situations like the July 7 bombings, sexually transmitted infections and the health impact of the 2005 Buncefield fuel depot fire.
A special pandemic influenza exhibition - looking at human and bird flu - will also be set up throughout the conference. |
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