The number of hospital patients stricken by an infection that can lead to gangrene, blood poisoning and even death increased by 200 percent between 2000 and 2005, according to the latest “News and Numbers” from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. This sharp upturn follows a 74 percent increase in the number of cases between 1993 and 2000.

“It’s clear that hospital and health care professionals need to do more to prevent Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus or MRSA, an antibiotic resistant staph infection, especially in radiology,” says Dr. Peter Rothschild, founder of Patient Comfort Systems — a company that strives to minimize the risk of biological contamination on patient exam pads. “While there are many things hospitals and diagnostic imaging centers can do, there are also many proactive steps patients can take to help protect themselves from healthcare acquired infections.”

The CDC reports that the number one action for preventing hospital acquired super bug infections is better hand hygiene by medical staff, their patients and visitors.

The following are a few important tips to keep in mind visiting a clinic or hospital:

If you are scheduled for an MRI and you are immunosuppressed, have HIV/AIDS, a chronic disease, have any type of compromised immune system or are elderly you owe it to yourself to demand to see a hospital or clinic’s infection control policy.

Visit the facility before your appointment to see their infection control. By the time you are lying on the table for your scan it is often too late.

Ask for the facility to fax or e-mail a copy of their infection control policy.  If they are not willing to share it, it probably means they do not have one.

Wash your own hands with soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Ask your health care provider to wash his or her hands and/or change their gloves prior to being examined.

Carry antibacterial wipes and wipe down wheelchairs, blood pressure cuffs, stethoscope diaphragms and the exam pad areas, or request that health care workers perform this simple sanitization before you are examined.

Pull back the white sheet, or paper, covering the pads in exam rooms. If the underlying pad is worn, torn or stained, ask for another exam room or new pads. Ask what the process is for disinfecting the pads and equipment you will contact. You can also carry a small portable black light to be used to check for biological contamination.

Ask for a report of infection rates from hospitals and clinics. Carefully choose a health care facility based upon its infection rates.

Five days prior to surgery, bathe each day with chlorhexidine soap, which is available without a prescription, to prevent dangerous bacteria from contaminating the skin. Ask that clippers be used instead of a razor to clear the surgical site. Razors can cause small nicks in the skin allowing bacteria to enter the body.

If an IV is required, make sure that the IV is inserted under sterile conditions. The skin area should be disinfected and the IV changed every three to four days. Also make sure that the person inserting or manipulating the IV washes his/her hands and wears sterile gloves.

Avoid touching your hands to your mouth and nose. Don’t leave eating utensils lying by the bedside, and always disinfect your hands before and after eating or touching your face.

Ask your doctor to test you for the MRSA super bug bacteria at least one week prior to going into the hospital.

By taking these proactive steps you can considerably reduce the risk of exposure to these deadly super bug infections for you and your loved ones in any health care setting.

For more information about hospital acquired infections and prevention, visit www.PatientComfortSystems.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Staph is Staphylococcus aureus or a type of bacteria that can cause infections ranging from skin to severe blood infections. MRSA or Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a type of staph that is resistant to certain antibiotics. Staph and MRSA in the community usually cause skin infections that often first look like spider bites or bumps that are red, swollen, and painful. They might also be filled with pus. Cuts and scrapes and areas of the body that are covered by hair, like the back of your neck, groin, buttock, armpit, or inner thighs are common places where these skin infections appear. Both staph and MRSA skin infections are able to be treated.

How is Staph and MRSA spread?

Staph and MRSA infections are usually spread by having contact with someone’s skin infection or personal items they have used, like towels, bandages, or razors that touched their infected skin. These infections are most likely to be spread in places where people are in close contact with others — for instance, schools and locker rooms where athletes might share razors or towels.

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What is the role of the environment in the spread of staph and MRSA?

The role of environment in the spread staph and MRSA in community settings is unclear. They are found on people and not naturally found in the environment. Staph and MRSA could get into the environment if your hands can pick up them by touching infected skin or certain areas of the body where these bacteria can live (like the nose). Then, if you touch a surface or item like a towel, your hands can pass the bacteria on to these items you have touched.
Another way that items can be contaminated with staph and MRSA is if they have direct contact with a person’s skin infection. Keeping infections skin infections covered with bandages is the best way to reduce the chance that surfaces will be contaminated with staph and MRSA.

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If staph and MRSA gets onto a surface, will I get an infection?

Even if surfaces have staph and MRSA on them, this does not mean that you will definitely get an infection if you touch these surfaces. Staph and MRSA are most likely to cause problems when you have a cut or scrape that is not covered. That’s why it’s important to cover your cuts and open wounds with bandages. MRSA can also get into small openings in the skin, like the openings at hair follicles. The best defense is good hygiene. Keep your hands clean, use a barrier like clothing or towels between you and any surfaces you share with others (like gym equipment), and shower immediately after activities that involve direct skin contact with others. These are easy ways to decrease your risk of getting a staph or MRSA infection.

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How long does staph and MRSA survive on surfaces?

As with other germs, staph and MRSA can survive on some surfaces for hours, days or even months, but it all depends on factors like temperature, humidity, the amount of germs present, and the type of surface (is it porous like a sponge or nonporous like plastic?). It also depends on whether these surfaces have nutrients to allow it to survive longer. When surfaces aren’t cleaned and conditions are good for bacterial growth, staph and MRSA is more likely to survive for longer periods.

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What can I do to keep surfaces free from staph and MRSA?

Cover your infections. Covering infections with bandages or dressings is the best way to keep surfaces from becoming contaminated with staph and MRSA.

Clean your hands often. Wash your hands often with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand rub when a sink is not available. Always clean your hands after changing bandages or touching infected skin.

Keep the environment clean. Regularly clean frequently touched surfaces and other items that come into direct contact with infected skin.

In gyms, locker rooms, and other places where many people come and go, repair or throw out equipment and furniture with damaged surfaces cannot be thoroughly cleaned.

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What surfaces should be the focus of my cleaning efforts?

Focus on surfaces that touch people’s bare skin each day and any surfaces that could come into contact with uncovered infections. For example, surfaces such as benches in the weight room or locker room.
Large surfaces such as floors and walls have not been directly involved in the spread of staph and MRSA. There is no evidence that spraying or fogging rooms or surfaces with disinfectants will prevent staph and MRSA infections more effectively than the targeted approach of cleaning frequently touched surfaces and any surfaces that have been exposed to infections.

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Cleaning and Disinfecting

What’s the difference between cleaners, sanitizers, and disinfectants?

Cleaners or detergents are products that are used to remove soil, dirt, dust, organic matter, and germs (like bacteria, viruses, and fungi). Cleaners or detergents work by washing the surface to lift dirt and germs off surfaces so they can be rinsed away with water. The same thing happens when you wash your hands with soap and water or when you wash dishes. Rinsing is an important part of the cleaning process. Use these products for routine cleaning of surfaces.

Sanitizers are used to reduce germs from surfaces but not totally get rid of them. Sanitizers reduce the germs from surfaces to levels that considered safe.

Disinfectants are chemical products that destroy or inactivate germs and prevent them from growing. Disinfectants have no effect on dirt, soil, or dust. Disinfectants are regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). You can use a disinfectant after cleaning for surfaces that have visible blood or drainage from infected skin.

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Which disinfectants should I use against staph and MRSA?

Disinfectants effective against Staphylococcus aureus or staph are most likely also effective against MRSA. These products are readily available from grocery stores and other retail stores. Check the disinfectant product’s label on the back of the container. Most, if not all, disinfectant manufacturers will provide a list of germs on their label that their product can destroy. Use disinfectants that are registered by the EPA (check for an EPA registration number on the product’s label to confirm that it is registered).

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How should cleaners and disinfectants be used?

Read the label first. Each cleaner and disinfectant has instructions on the label that tell you important facts:

• How to apply the product to a surface.
• How long you need to leave it on the surface to be effective (contact time).
• If the surface needs to be cleaned first and rinsed after using.
• If the disinfectant is safe for the surface.
• Whether the product requires dilution with water before use.
• Precautions you should take when applying the product such wearing gloves or aprons or making sure you have good ventilation during application.

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What is “contact time,” and why is it important?

Contact time is the time needed for the disinfectant to inactivate or kill germs to the extent as indicated by the manufacturer. For example, if a disinfectant label says that the product will inactivate 99.99% of germs, and the contact time of 1 minute is in the instructions, this means that this disinfectant will inactivate or kill 99.99% of germs in 1 minute if you follow the instructions. Most instructions will note that the disinfectant must remain wet on the precleaned surface being treated for the entire contact time in order to be most effective.

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Do surfaces need cleaning before using a disinfectant?

It depends on the product, so read the label first. Soil, dirt, dust, and organic matter all can often interfere with the active ingredients of disinfectants. Removing dirt from a surface by cleaning the surface before using a disinfectant will make sure it is most effective. Follow the product label’s instructions. Most products will use the words “precleaned surface” to point out that a surface should be cleaned before using the disinfectant.

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What is a detergent/disinfectant, and how does it differ from a disinfectant?

In general, cleaners don’t disinfect, and disinfectants don’t clean. There are some products that include chemicals for both cleaning and disinfecting. Read the label instructions of these products carefully because there are often different directions for cleaning and disinfecting.
For example, before you use the detergent/disinfectant product to disinfect a surface, the surface should be cleaned. When using a detergent/disinfectant as a disinfectant, the product should remain wet on the surface for the indicated contact time.

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Are there any health risks or hazards in using disinfectants?

Yes. Some disinfectants can be respiratory, eye and/or skin irritants. Read and follow the product label instructions. The product label is your guide to using disinfectants safely and effectively. It contains information that you should read and understand before you use the product. To learn about reading product labels: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/label/

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How should difficult surfaces such as keyboards be cleaned?

Many items such as computer keyboards or handheld electronic devices may be difficult to clean or disinfect or they could be damaged if they became wet. If these items are touched by many people during the course of the day, a cleanable cover/skin could be used on the item to allow for cleaning while protecting the item. Always check to see if the manufacturer has instructions for cleaning.

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How do I know if the surfaces or equipment are properly cleaned?

Although in most situations you will not know if a surface has been cleaned, it’s important to remember that most surfaces do not pose a risk of spreading staph and MRSA. If cleaning procedures are unknown, taking the appropriate precautions such as ? Using barriers like a towel or clothing between your skin and the surface.

• Showering immediately after activities where you have direct skin contact with people or shared surfaces such as after exercising at a health club.
• Cleaning your hands regularly.
• Keeping cuts and scrapes clean and covered with bandages or dressing until healed.

These precautions are especially important in settings such as in locker rooms, gyms, and health clubs.

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How should shared equipment like sports gear be cleaned?

Shared equipment that comes into direct skin contact should be cleaned after each use and allowed to dry. Equipment, such as helmets and protective gear, should be cleaned according to the equipment manufacturers’ instructions to make sure the cleaner will not harm the item.

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Is it safe to use household chlorine bleach as a disinfectant?

In general, EPA-registered products are preferred for disinfection, but if these aren’t available household chlorine bleach can be used. Chlorine bleach is a broad spectrum disinfectant that can inactivate or kill germs, including staph and MRSA. It should never be used at full strength for disinfecting. If you are using household chlorine bleach, read the label to see if the product has specific instructions for disinfection. Some bleach products are EPA-registered for this purpose. If no disinfection instructions exist, then use 1/4 cup of regular household bleach in 1 gallon of water (a 1:100 dilution equivalent to 500-615 parts per million [ppm] of available chlorine) to disinfect pre-cleaned surfaces. As with other cleaners and disinfectants, household chlorine bleach might damage some surfaces and items — for instance, some metals, plastics, and non-colorfast clothing.

Also be aware that household chlorine bleach, like other disinfectants, can be skin, eye, and respiratory irritants. Take appropriate precautions described on the product’s label instructions to reduce this risk. You might need to wear protective gear such as gloves.

Never mix chlorine bleach with any other household or cleaning products. Doing so can result in different types of harmful acids and gases.

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Can disinfectants be used to treat MRSA skin infections?

No. Disinfectants are registered by the EPA as pesticides and are not to be used on skin or other body parts.

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Laundry

Will routine laundry processes, detergents, and laundry additives remove staph and MRSA from towels, clothes, linens, and uniforms?

Yes. Routine laundry procedures, detergents, and laundry additives will all help to make clothes, towels, and linens safe to wear or touch. If items have been contaminated by infectious material, these may be laundered separately, but this is not absolutely necessary.

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What’s the proper water temperature for laundry?

Read and follow the clothing and soap or detergent label instructions. Water temperatures for household laundry depend on the type of fiber or fabric of the clothing. In general, wash and dry in the warmest temperatures recommended on the clothing label. Also some modern laundry detergents are made to clean best at certain temperatures. Not following instructions could damage the clothing item or decrease the effectiveness of the detergent.

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Is hot water washing and drying required for laundry?

No. Read and follow the clothing and soap or detergent label instructions. Wash and dry clothing in the warmest temperature listed on the clothing label. Hot water washing is not necessary for all household laundry.

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Do we need to use bleach for each load of laundry?

No. Clean laundry produced by washing with detergent alone will be safe for wear and use. Use of bleach as a disinfectant in laundering is optional, and not all fabrics are suitable for bleach. Read the clothing label instructions.

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For the full story visit the cdc

CDC campaign aims to draw attention to the increasing problem of antibiotic resistance

What do sinusitis, most sore throats, bronchitis, runny noses and the regular cold have in common? They are upper respiratory tract infections usually caused by viruses that can′t be cured with antibiotics. Yet, each year, health care providers in the U.S. prescribe tens of millions of antibiotics for viral infections.

To bring attention to this increasing problem, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will be observing the Get Smart About Antibiotics Week October 6-10, 2008. The campaign will highlight the coordinated efforts of the agency, states, non-profit partners, and for-profit partners to educate the public about antibiotic resistance and the importance of appropriate antibiotic use.

“Antibiotic overuse is a serious problem and a threat to everyone′s health,” says Dr. Lauri Hicks, medical director of CDC′s Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work program. Over-prescribing antibiotics, using a broad-spectrum therapy when a more specific drug would be better, starting and stopping medications, giving leftover medications to a friend who appears to have the same ailment you had, all contribute to the problem of antibiotic drug resistance, according to Hicks.

“As we enter this year′s cold and flu season, we ask parents to not insist on getting antibiotics when a health care provider says they are not needed,” says Hicks. “If you have a cold, or the flu, antibiotics won’t work for you.”

According to Hicks antibiotics kill bacteria, not the viruses that cause colds or flu, most coughs and bronchitis, sore throats not caused by strep, and runny noses. Taking antibiotics when you don′t need them or not as prescribed increases your risk of getting an infection later that resists antibiotic treatment. If the health care provider’s recommendation is to wait- wait. People need to be patient and let the body do its work.

Hicks also asks health care providers to take the time to educate their patients about antibiotic resistance and the possibility of having serious side effects. For example, allergic reactions to antibiotics, such as rash and anaphylaxis, send thousands of patients to the emergency room each year, according to a recent study published in the Clinical Infectious Diseases Journal.

To help prevent illness, Hicks encourages people to wash their hands frequently, get the flu vaccine and avoid close contact with people who are sick.

The campaign will reach out to parents and health care providers through advertisements, fact sheets, brochures, posters, radio and print public service announcements, podcasts, and mainstream media interviews.

For more information or to download free campaign materials, visit www.cdc.gov/getsmart.

The documents are located here

The original press release can be found by visiting

State Schools Chief Jack O’Connell Announces Guide to MRSA
is Translated Into 23 Languages to Reach More Parents

Thank you to the State of California for producing the helpful translation!

MRSA and C difficile superbug deaths at 10,000 a year

The number of patients in British hospitals dying from superbug infections has reached more than 10,000 every year, according to an expert.

The new figure is about 20% higher than the official toll of 8,000 a year.

Mark Enright, professor of molecular epidemiology at Imperial College London, said that the real number of those succumbing to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Clostridium difficile (C difficile) in the UK is higher than the government’s records show.

“I think it is at least 10,000 a year,” he said. “A lot of people are never tested for these infections and their deaths are put down to something else.”

“Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are now so well established here, we will never get rid of them,” said Hugh Pennington, emeritus professor of bacteriology at Aberdeen University and a world expert.

Latest European figures show that Britain’s hospitals are still teeming with treatment-resistant bacteria.

While strict hygiene measures have ensured low infection rates in other countries, microbiologists here are privately admitting that Britain’s problem is so out of control, it will be impossible to prevent the high level of deaths from continuing.

The government’s pledge to reduce rates of MRSA to half the 2004 level is unattainable, they say.

According to figures from Eurosurveillance, at least 42% of MRSA bacteria in British hospitals are “superstrains”, compared with rates of 20% or lower elsewhere.

In the 31-nation European antisuperbug league table, Britain lies close to the bottom, with an infection-control performance better than those of only Malta, Greece, Portugal and Romania.

For the full story visit

Infection-tracking measure bothers health professionals.

By T.J. GREANEY of the Tribune’s staff

Published Sunday, March 16, 2008

MRSA is responsible for more deaths than AIDS in the United States. The so-called superbug also is causing a stir in Missouri as legislators and consumer advocacy groups sound an alarm over MRSA and health professionals accuse them of playing politics and using murky science.

Rep. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph, recently abandoned an attempt to list MRSA - methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus - as a “reportable condition” that would require notification to the state Department of Health and Senior Services, saying he was forced to “water down” a bill he introduced.

“When you buy meat at the grocery, you know it’s prepared at a factory where people have to wear a hairnet and walk through bleach and all sorts of protections,” Schaaf said. “You know, we don’t have that at the hospitals.”

Schaaf is one of a handful of physicians in the Missouri House and a champion of 2004 legislation that expanded reporting of infections in the state. His pending bill, HB 1546, would have required testing for MRSA in patients and doctors, isolation of infected patients and public reporting of MRSA hospital infection rates.

Eddie Hedrick, the emerging infections coordinator for the state, saw several problems with the bill. Hedrick and Linda Johnson, University of Missouri Health Care infection control manager, criticized it in testimony last month at the Capitol, causing Schaaf to pull controversial aspects.

“There’s a lot of politics involved in this whole thing,” said Hedrick, who contends media reports have been “drawing cloudy lines” between MRSA that is deadly and commonplace types of MRSA. He said there are two types of MRSA bugs:

● Health-care associated MRSA first appeared 50 years ago and occurs mostly in hospitals or nursing homes among patients with weakened immune systems.

● Community associated MRSA emerged in the last 10 years and occurs mostly among young people who spend time in close quarters and practice lax hygiene. CAMRSA outbreaks are generally on the skin and result in boils that typically disappear without treatment but can be deadly on rare occasions.

For the rest of the story visit

Here is the story as reported by the local paper. There is a link at the end for the full story.

Dorothy Dian Palinchik dies only hours after her family decides to remove her from life support.

By Johnathan Abel, Times Staff Writer
Published February 29, 2008

Just before 7 a.m. Thursday, doctors told Palinchik that her 42-year-old daughter’s blackened hands and feet were irreversibly damaged and her bowels were not viable.

The only choice was between amputating all of Palinchik’s limbs or taking her off life support. Just a few hours later, doctors amended their decision, saying amputation was out of the question.

“They said she would never live through something like that,” Palinchik’s mother said.

At that point, the family decided to remove Palinchik from life support, once her sister Annette Olds drove in from Fort Myers this morning.

But Palinchik’s ravaged body couldn’t wait.

At 4:14 p.m. she was pronounced dead, ending a tortured two-week illness that has raised questions about the medical care at the Pinellas County Jail.

Palinchik’s family blames the jail for not recognizing the illness earlier and for not treating it aggressively enough. They believe her life could have been saved if she’d been taken to the hospital sooner.

On Thursday, Palinchik’s mother had a preliminary conversation with St. Petersburg lawyer Thomas D. Masterson about suing the jail.

Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Marianne Pasha said privacy laws prevented her from discussing Palinchik’s medical treatment. She said an internal investigation is under way, which is standard in any case where an inmate becomes gravely ill.

The only thing she could say about Palinchik’s condition is that she showed no signs of the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection when she was booked into the jail on Feb. 13.

One of the remarkable aspects of Palinchik’s death is how quickly she deteriorated.

For more of this story visit

The study, from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of NIH, resolves debate about the molecular evolution of CA-MRSA in the United States. The findings rule out the previously held possibility that multiple strains of USA300, the most troublesome type of CA-MRSA in the United States, emerged randomly with similar characteristics. The study also offers a hypothesis for the origin of previous S. aureus outbreaks, such as those caused by penicillin-resistant strains in the 1950s and 1960s.

A second study led by the same NIAID scientists takes the issue of the evolution of MRSA a step further, revealing new information about how MRSA bacteria in general, including the USA300 group, elude the human immune system.

The first study, which appears online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that the USA300 group of CA-MRSA strains, collectively called the epidemic strain, comprises nearly identical clones that have emerged from a single bacterial strain. It is the first time scientists have used comparative genome sequencing to reveal the origins of epidemic CA-MRSA. Frank R. DeLeo, Ph.D., at NIAID’s Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML) in Hamilton, Mont., led the research.

“Scientists are pressing ahead quickly to learn more about how some MRSA strains evade the immune system and spread rapidly,” says NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. “The information presented in these two studies adds important new insights to that expanding knowledge base.”

To understand how CA-MRSA is evolving in complexity and spreading geographically, Dr. DeLeo’s group sequenced the genomes of 10 patient samples of the USA300 bacterium recovered from individuals treated at different U.S. locations between 2002 and 2005. They then compared these genomes to each other and to a baseline USA300 strain used in earlier studies. Eight of the 10 USA300 patient samples were found to have nearly indistinguishable genomes, indicating they originated from a common strain. The remaining two bacteria were related to the other eight, but more distantly.

Interestingly, of the eight nearly indistinguishable USA300 patient samples, two caused far fewer deaths in laboratory mice than the others, highlighting an emerging view that tiny genetic changes among evolving strains can profoundly affect disease severity and the potential for drug resistance to develop.

“The USA300 group of strains appears to have extraordinary transmissibility and fitness,” says Dr. DeLeo. “We anticipate that new USA300 derivatives will emerge within the next several years and that these strains will have a wide range of disease-causing potential.” Ultimately, Dr. DeLeo and his colleagues hope that the work will lead to the development of new diagnostic tests that can quickly identify specific strains of MRSA.

Fred C. Tenover, Ph.D., of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta (CDC) contributed the 10 USA300 clinical isolates from CDC’s Active Bacterial Core Surveillance system. Other study collaborators included Barry N. Kreiswirth, Ph.D., of the International Center for Public Health (ICPH) in Newark, N.J., and James M. Musser, M.D., Ph.D., of The Methodist Hospital Research Institute in Houston.

The second report, which involved scientists from RML, ICPH and Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, was recently published online in the Journal of Immunology. This study provides scientists with new details about the complex mechanisms MRSA uses to avoid destruction by neutrophils, human white blood cells that ingest and destroy microbes. When exposed to hydrogen peroxide, hypochlorous acid (the active component of household bleach) or antimicrobial proteins — all killer chemicals released by neutrophils — MRSA senses danger, escapes harm and turns the tables on the white blood cells, destroying them. Work is continuing in Dr. DeLeo’s lab to understand how the bacterium senses and survives attacks by neutrophils.

NIAID is a component of the National Institutes of Health. NIAID supports basic and applied research to prevent, diagnose and treat infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, influenza, tuberculosis, malaria and illness from potential agents of bioterrorism. NIAID also supports research on basic immunology, transplantation and immune-related disorders, including autoimmune diseases, asthma and allergies.

News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID Web site at http://www.niaid.nih.gov.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation’s Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

For the original release visit the NIH

Warning after star’s £5m MRSA pay-out

A BOLTON solicitor is warning hospitals they could face a surge of new superbug claims.

The alert comes after former Men Behaving Badly star Leslie Ash won a record £5 million out-of-court settlement after she contracted MRSA while a patient at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

People who contract infections such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile while in hospital could now feel more confident about making a claim against the NHS, according to Stephenson’s Solicitors, based in Silverwell Street, Bolton.

For the full story visit