From April to September 2004, 3,519 NHS patients were infected with the bug compared to 3,940 patients infected between October 2003 and March 2004.

The figures have been announced on the same day as a new programme to recognise MRSA outbreaks "within hours rather than days".

However, the Tories have accused the government of "pre-election trickery" because the latest figures only cover the summer months - MRSA infections tend to peak in winter.

Have you been infected by MRSA? Are you worried about MRSA? Is the government's strategy to tackle MRSA proving successful? Send us your views and experiences.

This debate has now closed. Thank you for your comments.

The following comments reflect the balance of opinion we have received so far:

We will not solve the problem without screening and treating it in the community Sarah McGuinness, Newcastle

I'm a nurse in a busy hospital. It's a fact that a third of the general public carry MRSA, therefore it doesn't matter how clean the hospitals are, and every new admission has the potential to bring it back onto the wards. We will not solve the problem without screening and treating it in the community.
Sarah McGuinness, Newcastle

The time to be claiming MRSA is on the decline is when there has been a year-on-year decrease in cases over, say 3 years. It is not 6 months after the problem hit the headlines in a big way and 2 months before a general election - no one is fooled by that sort of timing.
David Hazel, Fareham, UK

So the Labour government is congratulating itself for being responsible for nearly 5,500 deaths through MRSA. A 5% reduction is pathetic. Reid needs to employ more cleaners, and pay them a decent wage so they have pride in their jobs.
Lester Stenner, UK

I'm glad the billions of pounds of extra taxation being directed at the NHS has resulted in at least some improvement.
Peter Wagstaff, Rotherham, South Yorkshire

I had kidney surgery in Feb 2004 and 4 days after was seriously ill with "an infection". In August, my GP found out I had MRSA. As I needed a further operation, I went back to hospital and saw my file, covered in MRSA warning stickers although no one had told my family or I. Last month I had my next operation with no pre-surgery anti-MRSA treatment, but I was put in a side ward, which was cleaned twice in the 5 days admittance. Fingers crossed - I seem to be OK but who knows? The public need more truthful info and hygiene!
Steph, Camborne, UK

My father was in Leicester Royal Infirmary last summer and no mention was made of MRSA by the staff or in his records, but it was discovered when he moved to a private nursing home on 20 Sept. Was his case counted in the statistics? Can they be relied upon if tests are not routinely undertaken? The infection did not kill him but his final months were made more painful by the infection in his bedsores.
Sue Vanden Bon, Egham, Surrey

Instead of the constant destructive criticisms, let's all get behind our NHS Bill Dryden, Monrose, Scotland

Why do we never celebrate the countless successes of the NHS? Thousands and thousands of us are treated every single day, 24/7, through the skills and care of our wonderful NHS staff, doctors, nurses, administrators, managers, ancillaries, drivers, cooks, cleaners.....yes there are things wrong, and many, many people are working extremely hard night and day to improve our NHS. Instead of the constant destructive criticisms, let's all get behind our NHS and give it the support it deserves.
Bill Dryden, Monrose, Scotland

My grandmother died of the MRSA bug a couple of years ago. The hospital tried to cover it up by saying she had TB until the consultant slipped up and told us the truth. The conditions in the hospital were appalling. She was kept in an isolation ward and the only time she was cleaned up, vomit mopped up, bedding changed was when we visited her and did it ourselves. The cleaners never entered her room once the entire 3 weeks she was there. However, it warms my heart to know that whilst my grandmother was suffering, Labour was concentrating on whether toffs should be allowed to chase foxes. I can't put into words the disgust I feel.
Kay, Colchester

Though the statistics show a small decrease in cases the effort required to halt something like this is enormous as infections spread exponentially. Stabilising the increase and beginning a decrease is a massive achievement, well done to the NHS staff who have worked hard on this, and some credit must go to the government for its policy changes on cleaning contracts and powers given to modern matrons. It makes me sick to have seen the Conservatives scoring political points re: MRSA, it was their under-funding and obsession with 'market-rate' (ie cheapest) cleaning contracts that allowed MRSA to take hold in the NHS.
Kevin, West Midlands

I am one of the stats having caught it last September in hospital. These figures are a poor attempt at creating voter sympathy - in fact the hospitals are just as dirty as before and the doctors don't know how to manage this illness either. I would love to speak to the Health Secretary if only to explain what it is like.
Chris, London

I worked in the NHS under the Tories (1991-95) and every week there was an outbreak of MRSA somewhere in the hospital - patients arrived carrying the bug. The government should be congratulated for attempting to deal with the situation - their predecessors merely swept the problem under the carpet (literally).
LW, Milton Keynes, England

Cleaning is regarded as a low skill, low prestige job to be done as cheaply as possible Ken, England, UK

The people employed to clean hospitals, schools, offices etc are the lowest paid workers in the country. Cleaning is regarded as a low skill, low prestige job to be done as cheaply as possible. A complete change of thinking is required. Our hospitals will only be brought up to the standards elsewhere in the world when cleaning is given the importance, resources and modern equipment it deserves. Those given the responsibility for hygiene should enjoy the same or higher status and salaries as administrators and clerks.
Ken, England, UK

I recently had a short spell in hospital and I was impressed that the cleanliness standards were very high. However, there was one thing that let it all down and it was not the fault of the staff as there appears to be a very basic procedural matter that I'm sure many hospitals have overlooked. When patients' blood pressure is taken every four hours within a ward, the staff go round the ward with a blood pressure monitor machine from bed to bed. The same monitor cuff is put on each patient without the patient's arm being cleansed with a sterile wipe. If any one patient had MRSA on their skin it would be all round a ward within a few hours.
Dave, Stevenage

There didn't seem to be any review by medical staff of what the cleaners were doing Ian, Bradford, UK

I spent 4 days in hospital recently and noticed that the cleaners followed a certain routine cleaning certain areas thoroughly but leaving other more difficult to reach areas dirty. There didn't seem to be any review by medical staff of what the cleaners were doing. With respect to the government report, I've completely lost confidence in any statistics produced by the government. I guess they are desperate for an NHS good news story in the run up to the election.
Ian, Bradford, UK

My flatmate is a nurse and she often says that contract cleaners have no effort or pride in the job they do, they do not feel part of the NHS because they are not! Bring back well paid in-house cleaners who care about the very important role they play in the NHS.
Caroline, London

Eighty people died from industrial accidents last year which the government said was a serious problem. Three hundred people died from MRSA, is that not an even more serious problem?
John Bowtell, Ipswich Suffolk

The more worrying underlying problem is the over-prescription of antibiotic John, England

Cleaning is only half the issue here. The more worrying underlying problem is the over-prescription of antibiotics, and the failure of us (the public) to take courses of antibiotics to completion when they are prescribed to us. The consequence is the resistance of the Staph Aureus bug to nearly every drug on the market (the "R" in MRSA stands for resistant). The only drug left in our arsenal is Vancomycin - it's only a matter of time before VRSA appears, then we really will have problems!
John, England

Dr. Reid's data (incidentally he's a doctor of Economic history not medicine) is nothing to be proud of. Government measures ie. basic hygiene is suddenly on the agenda now an election is looming. Little comfort for the families of dead relatives.
Terence, London

I visited a Swiss hospital last year. It was explained as a 'state hospital' to me. I can't comment on the clinical care or the number of germs around. But I can comment on the general cleanliness and standards. The hospital was quiet and calm. And it was so clean that I could have eaten my dinner off the toilets (and I do mean that). The doors were stainless steel and with not one finger mark on them. There was no dust, grime, dirt, or anything like that. And it was an older hospital too (built in the 1930s or 50s to me). It had a pleasant cafe area with doors open on to a green area, and with lots of free car parking. It was the total opposite of local hospital experiences here.
John, Portsmouth

MRSA is a problem that should not affect the fourth biggest economy of the world. It is a problem you would expect to be encountered by less economically developed nations. I think it is an absolute disgrace that in 2005 people go to a hospital and don't know if they will return alive, not because of their illness but that they might be infected there!
Timothy Howard, Pinner, UK

It's incredible that the government can applaud the NHS for reducing by a few percent killer infections which should never occur in the first place! It's like congratulating a serial killer for taking a week off.
Gary Kelly, Swindon

MRSA has been a problem since about 1971 - I can remember outbreaks then but only since 2001 have any decent national records been kept. It's like waiting lists - if the Tories don't keep them no-one can see the extent of the problem and so nothing gets done.
Bob Richardson, Welwyn

Aye right! I work in an acute admissions ward and know that this is just more government rubbish. Wake up and come back to the real world, the figures are utter garbage. We clean the wards, the sick, faeces, blood and urine the cleaners won't touch it. If anything its getting worse because of the bureaucrats.
Sandra King, Dundee Angus

I just couldn't get over the fact that she was using the same water to clean everything! Jakki Higginbottom, Derby

I was in hospital for a week at the beginning of January as I had flu. I was appalled to see the cleaner mopping the floor and then rinsing out another cloth in the same water with which to wipe down the over bed tables, lockers at the side of the beds, window sills etc. Whilst I was pleased to see she was washing absolutely everything I just couldn't get over the fact that she was using the same water to clean everything!
Jakki Higginbottom, Derby, UK

The statistics have dropped because less patient swabs are being taken, not because MRSA infection has decreased. Another case of managing to meet the target, not managing in the patients' interest.
Andrew, London

When I saw today's announcement on the reduction in MRSA cases I laughed. I laughed because I knew that the professional cynics out there would predictably be clambering to pour scorn on the government's statistics and claim it was all spin. It's worth noting that these are the very same people who didn't bat an eyelid when the figures increased last time. I, for one, welcome the reduction and believe that the figures are accurate.
Shaun, Balham

I am an independent melaleuca distributor; we sell tea-tree oil products. They are antiseptic and anti-bacterial. They would be ideal for hospitals in England. I heard that Australia has no MRSA. They use tea-tree products. I use them for everything - cleaning, hair, skin, and as an antiseptic for my kids. It is brilliant.
Maria Crawford, Ipswich

I was staying in a Manchester hospital after having Toxic Shock Syndrome. There was a woman in the ward diagnosed with MRSA. And she wondered around the ward, used the phone and the same toilet and not one nurse cleaned up after her. I was so scared of catching it. Myself and three other women discharged ourselves and reported it. One every hour? Why is that good? It shouldn't even exist in this day in age.
Victoria , Manchester

MRSA is a medical issue, not a political one. The hospitals should examine the sources of MRSA infection and resolve them regardless of who is in power. To make this a political issue is ludicrous.
Mark, USA

With only recently hearing of a relative recovering from the infection I can like most things from this government take it with a pinch of salt. The hospital in question procrastinated and delayed with every obstacle before telling the truth over the infection to the patient's family, which is probably mirrored by a government looking over its shoulder towards an election.
Mike Hall, Kingham, UK

More spin. How can this be a record low when the number of infections has doubled? MRSA infections weren't recorded ten years ago because they didn't exist. Now they kill nearly 1,000 people every year. If the railways killed that many, there would be an outcry, but because it is our beloved NHS, we say and do nothing. They don't have this level of problem in France and Germany where they have insurance based healthcare. When we will we wake up and realise the NHS model isn't working?
John, Hackney, UK

These figures are in isolation and I have absolutely no way of telling if they are good, bad or indifferent Katherine, London, UK

In order to better tell whether this is a government made crisis or not, I would like to see figures from other comparable western countries. At the moment, these figures are in isolation and I have absolutely no way of telling if they are good, bad or indifferent.

Comparisons with other systems would surely also be useful for telling whether this is about cleaning, or about overuse of antibiotics creating a superbug in the first place, or both. This is a perfect example of information without any way of assessing it - without more I have knowing whether either the government's or Michael Howard's statements are correct.
Katherine, London, UK

So only one person every hour is now catching MRSA in English hospitals, and the government think that this is something to be proud of. Considering the hygiene issue, why are cleaners employed without experience, qualifications, on a minimum wage through outsourced deals when the hygiene of a hospital is critical to the work under taken there?
Phil Daw, Cardiff Wales

To Phil Daw, Wales: You raise a good question. Cleaning contracts were outsourced by Mrs Thatcher's government - isn't it time Tony Blair's government brought them back in-house again?
Nik Macve-Southwood, Exeter, Devon

To Nik (Exeter) oh puhleeese! Every failure of this government is blamed on the previous Tory Government. Even if you accept that that government was a failure, Labour have had more than enough time to "Put things right".
Danny, Petersfield