The number of MRSA infections in Irish hospitals has been increasing in recent years, the Dáil was told.
Minister for Health Mary Harney revealed that there were 445 cases in 2002, 480 cases in 2003, 553 cases in 2004, 586 last year and 285 in the first half of this year.
However, Ms Harney said Ireland, at 4.9 per cent, had the lowest prevalence of healthcare-associated infection in the UK and the Republic, excluding Scotland. In England, it was 8.2 per cent, Wales 6.3 per cent, and Northern Ireland 5.5 per cent.
She said the Health Service Executive (HSE) would shortly publish a three-year action plan setting targets to deal with the matter. "Active recruitment is ongoing within the HSE nationally to employ essential infection control staff, such as infection and control nurses, hospital liaison pharmacists, surveillance scientists and clinical microbiologists," she said.
She added that it was difficult to identify the number of fatalities attributable to MRSA as many people also had "significant co-morbidity factors". All medical practitioners had an ethical responsibility to complete death certificates as accurately as possible and this included MRSA infection.
Discussions were ongoing between the HSE and the coroner's office as how best to ensure that the accuracy of death certification could be improved, she said.
Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (SF, Cavan-Monaghan) raised the case of a woman who entered hospital for the removal of a kidney stone, contracted MRSA through bed sores in her ankles, and left hospital with both legs amputated.
"That is an astonishing fact," he said.
Ms Harney said it was significant that the Republic's rates were lower than elsewhere.
"I am not boasting about that but simply pointing out that this is not often the message we hear."
She said the main reason for the higher figures for MRSA now was that there was more data available.
"In the past, this was not measured. Nowadays, there is much more measurement and that will reveal the type of data which was not available in the past," she said.
