Findings of a European Commission

The Antibiotic Resistance, Prevention And Control (ARPAC) project, which involved the HPA and Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, showed that out of approximately 300 European hospitals studied, those with the highest MRSA prevalence also had the greatest levels of antibiotic use. There was also strong evidence to prove that those hospitals which undertake specific infection control measures such as patient isolation are more likely to have a lower prevalence of MRSA. Out of the whole of Europe, ARPAC identified southern and western Europe as having the highest levels of MRSA. Professor Barry Cookson, an MRSA expert at the HPA who took part in the project’s steering group said: “Low prevalence of MRSA was strongly linked with infection control procedures such as the isolation of patients with MRSA in single rooms; healthcare worker use of barrier precautions (for example gowns and gloves) to prevent cross contamination and the use of alcohol-based disinfectants by healthcare workers.”