A support group for victims of the hospital infection MRSA has called for a national database of infections to be established to determine the extent of the disease.
The number of MRSA-related deaths has doubled since 1999 in the United Kingdom, where statistics are recorded, but no data is collected by hospitals in Ireland.
Support group, MRSA and Families, which was set up in 2004 by relatives of victims and survivors of the infection, believes 10 people died from the bug in the last year.
Chairperson Margaret Dawson, whose husband contracted MRSA during routine hospital surgery, said: "Our hospitals are rampant at the moment. In the last 12 months, I know of at least 10 people who died. More people are contacting me every day with new cases.
"My husband was left an invalid. It completely takes over the body. The time for talking is over.
MRSA and Families is planning nationwide public information meetings beginning with Tralee next week and Galway in March. Mrs Dawson urged people with relatives who contracted the infection to register with her website, www.wallofsilence.ie.
Minister for Health Mary Harney has said that effective infection control measures, including environmental cleanliness and hand hygiene, are central to the control of hospital-acquired infections like MRSA.
A national strategy to control antimicrobial resistance, including MRSA, was published in 2001, and €20.5 million has been made available for its implementation.
MRSA or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is commonly found on the skin but causes no harmful ill-effects. However it can have fatal consequences if it gets into the bloodstream.
PA