Number of death certificates mentioning Staphylococcus aureus by meticillin resistance, England and Wales
The number of death certificates mentioning Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) decreased to 1,593 in 2007 and then decreased further to 1,230 in 2008, a fall of 23 per cent. The number of death certificates in England and Wales mentioning Staphylococcus auras (including those not specified as resistant) was 1,500 in 2008, a decrease of 27 per cent compared to 2007.
Age-standardised rates for deaths involving MRSA were highest in males. Between 2007 and 2008, the age-standardised rate for deaths involving MRSA in males decreased from 26 to 18 per million population, a fall of 31 per cent. In females the rate decreased, from 12 to 10 per million population, a fall of 13 per cent over the same period.
Most of the deaths involving MRSA were in the older age groups. Mortality rates in 2008 for deaths involving MRSA in the 85 and over age group were 659 and 236 deaths per million population for males and females respectively. In the under 45 age group, there was 1 death per million population for both males and females.
Notes:
Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a variety of Staphylococcus aureus that is resistant to meticillin, and some of the other antibiotics that are usually used to treat S. aureus. Those who die with MRSA are usually patients who were already very ill and it is instead their existing illness, rather than MRSA, which is often designated as the underlying cause of death. There is therefore an interest in the number of deaths where MRSA contributed to the death – only conditions which contribute directly to the death should be recorded as a ‘mention’ on the death certificate.
The method used to calculate the number of deaths involving MRSA is described in Griffiths C, Lamagni TL, Crowcroft NS, Duckworth G and Rooney C (2004) ‘Trends in MRSA in England and Wales: analysis of morbidity and mortality data for 1993-2002’. Health Statistics Quarterly 21, 15-22.
Mortality rates for 2008 have been calculated using provisional death registration figures for 2008 and population projections for 2008 as estimates are not yet available. These rates are therefore provisional until updated in the next annual report.
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MRSA data