The government has taken its “eye off the ball” on hospital infections other than MRSA and Clostridium difficile, a cross-party group of MPs says.
The Public Accounts Committee said setting targets in England for the two infections had led to a fall in cases.
But they warned there were signs other bugs, such as E. coli, were becoming more common and they called for better surveillance to curb the problem.
The Department of Health said it was already looking into the issue.
In England, MRSA rates are now a quarter of what they were at their peak in 2004, while C. difficile rates have fallen by nearly a third in the past year, following the introduction of targets.
But the MPs said these only accounted for about a fifth of the total number of all infections seen in hospital.
While MRSA is the most high-profile bloodstream infection, E. coli is much more common and has actually increased by a third in the past four years, the report said.
It also highlighted surgical site infections, which were twice as common as bloodstream infections, and respiratory and urinary tract infections, which were three times as common.
Read more at BBC Health.
Tags: HAI
