MRSA detected on patients at Darent Valley Hospital

Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust confirmed this afternoon (January 18) that seven patients have picked up the bug on their skin while at the hospital.

A trust spokesman said: "Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust can confirm that Darent Valley Hospital has seven patients who have picked up MRSA on their skin whilst in the hospital, they are not unwell as a result of the MRSA but we will be instituting increased infection control procedures to ensure this is contained.”

MRSA can be carried without symptoms in the nose and on the skin and people who have never been in hospital may be carriers. According to NHS guidance, it lives harmlessly on the skin of around one in 30 people.

It is detected via screening swabs which are taken from the nose, groin and any skin breaks.

The trust said that, at Darent Valley Hospital, all adult in-patients are screened for MRSA carriage on admission and then weekly until discharge.

The bacteria - often referred to as a 'superbug' - can be harder to treat because it is resistant to several widely used antibiotics.

The NHS advice states: "Getting MRSA on your skin won't make you ill, and it may go away in a few hours, days, weeks or months without you noticing. But it could cause an infection if it gets deeper into your body."