The Scottish Government advice to hospitals is to douse surfaces which might host MRSA with maximum doses of bug-killers and to do it frequently to prevent resistant strains emerging.

The study by experts at Edinburgh and Strathclyde Universities analysed a series of samples of MRSA and saw how it was affected by varying levels of chlorhexidine, a recommended disinfectant for hospitals. The study was funded by the Scottish Government as part of continuing efforts to find ways to stop hospital superbugs.

The researchers found that MRSA was able to survive on surfaces where there was a smaller concentration of chlorhexidine and that samples of the bacteria which survived were able to develop genes linked with resistance. They then found that bacteria with these genes were less susceptible to greater concentrations of chlorhexidine.

The researchers concluded: "The development of reduced microbial susceptibility to biocides represents a serious cause for concern in the clinical environment."

The latest quarterly figures show 207 cases of MRSA were reported in Scotland's hospitals between July and September last year. This was down slightly from 212 in the same period of 2006, but up on the 201 cases in 2004.

Hugh Pennington, emeritus professor of bacteriology at the University of Aberdeen, said: "These findings, which do not surprise me at all, show in essence that poor cleaning/disinfection practices with biocides may do more harm than good in that they could result in an environment that favours antibiotic resistance in MRSA as well as resistance to the biocides themselves."

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "This research by academics at the University of Edinburgh into the use of chlorhexidine is a valuable addition to the array of studies that have been undertaken on the complex issue of MRSA and further research would be welcomed.

"As with all research of this kind, the hospital acquired infections task force and key stakeholders will consider its conclusions when developing their HAI policies."

Superbug 'kills one person every hour' in UK

Hazel Mollison

THE hospital superbug clostridium difficile is now killing one person every hour in the UK, according to a new investigation.

Ten times more elderly patients die from C Diff in the UK than in any other country, a BBC Panorama special will claim. The infection also kills four times as many people as MRSA.

Government figures show that for people aged 65 and over C diff infection rates have fallen by 23% year on year.

But Panorama claims that the way these cases are counted has changed, and the actual figures are far higher. C diff causes diarrhoea, ranging from mild cases to severe illness, and can be fatal. Elderly patients treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics are at particular risk.

Professor Richard James, who runs a centre at Nottingham University investigating hospital infections, told the programme: "More than 50% of hospital trusts in the UK have a rate of infection more than 10 times that of any other country." Panorama carried out a Freedom of Information survey of every acute trust and health board in the UK.

Of those that replied, more than half had bed occupancy rates of more than 85%.

"Experts would say if you go above 85% bed occupancy rates, then that is not conducive to good control of infection measures," Prof James said.

Professor Brendan Wren, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told the programme: "The deaths of 6,500 people a year is the equivalent of one person dying every hour in our hospitals."

The Department of Health has denied the country comparison claim, saying there was no evidence that mortality is significantly higher in the UK. A spokeswoman said:

"Tackling C difficile is a top priority for our NHS and for this Government. We take this issue seriously."

Ann Keen, the minister for health services, said: "NHS staff have worked extremely hard to drive down numbers of infections and I'm pleased to see significant reductions compared to the previous year.

"However, one case of avoidable infection is one too many."