Mrsa Figures Manipulated?

摘要

Figures from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) show that there were 1072 cases of MRSA, the so-called "super-bug", in English hospitals from July to September 2007. Government ministers have claimed this figure as showing that they are on track to achieve a promise to halve MRSA rates by March 2008. Opposition spokesmen have accused ministers of manipulating data and dates to make the claim.rnIn 2004 the then health secretary John Reid set a target of halving MRSA rates by March 2008. The rate of infection at the time of the target being set was 1925 cases per quarter. The target rate is therefore 963 cases a quarter. In 2007 a leaked Department of Health memo suggested that this goal was likely to be missed. The government has now said that it will consider the target met if there are 963 cases or less in the quarter April to June.