HEALTH chiefs are celebrating after the number of cases of a potentially fatal superbug has been slashed significantly following a worrying upsurge last year.

Latest figures show York Hospital has not had a single case of MRSA in nine months – well below the national standard.

The news follows a surge in cases of the infection at the hospital last summer.

In July, The Press revealed nine cases of MRSA had been reported between April and June – compared with only one case during the same period in 2007.

Hospital bosses said at the time patients were treated promptly in isolated bays and infection control practices had been tightened.

At a meeting of the York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust members’ council, Mike Proctor, trust deputy chief executive, revealed they had not had any cases of MRSA since July.

He said the good news was testament to the hard work by all the staff at the hospital to minimise the risk of hospital-acquired infections. He said the hospital had improved clinical practice by, for example, focusing on hand hygiene with weekly hand hygiene audits and introducing a “bare below the elbows” policy for hospital clinical staff.

He said: “I was delighted to report the organisation had not had a single case of MRSA bacteraemia for nine months.

“This is no accident and has been brought about by huge efforts to focus all our staff’s attention on infection control and reducing risks for our patients.”

With only 13 cases reported since early last year, York Hospital is now back on track to stay within the Government-set threshold of 16 cases between April 2008 and March 2009.

City of York councillor Sandy Fraser, chairman of the health scrutiny committee and a governor at York Hospital, welcomed the news.

He said: “I think it is very reassuring to the people in York that the hospital, which already had very low number of infection or MRSA cases, has managed to get a further reduction.

“It should reassure people that if they do have to get treatment at the hospital it is a very safe environment.

“It is a great testament to the staff and management at the hospital who I am sure will not be complacent in tackling infection.”