To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 5 February 2007, Official Report, column 723W, on healthcare-acquired infections, when she expects the Health Protection Agency to publish on its website the number of reported cases of (a) MRSA and (b) Clostridium difficile for the period April 2006 to March 2007; and if she will make a statement. (132310)

Data on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections have been collected through the mandatory surveillance scheme since April 2001 and are published by financial year (April to March). The Health Protection Agency (HPA) plans to publish the data for the last financial year (April 2006 to March 2007) in late July 2007.

Data on Clostridium difficile associated disease have been collected through the mandatory surveillance scheme since January 2004 and are published by calendar year. Data for 2006 are due to be published in April 2007 and the HPA plans to publish the data for the first quarter of 2007 (January to March) in late July 2007.

Data on both diseases have been routinely published quarterly since January 2007.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 11 October 2006, Official Report, column 774W, on MRSA, what progress her Department has made on its internal desk analysis of hospital organisation specialty mix and MRSA; and when she plans to publish the report. (131929)

As part of its programme to reduce healthcare associated infections the Department is undertaking peer review of this internal desk analysis. It is planned to publish this later this year once the peer review is complete.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of STERIS Vaporized Hydrogen Peroxide technology in tackling MRSA within the NHS. (132968)

The Rapid Review Panel has reviewed Steris’ vaporised hydrogen peroxide and awarded it a recommendation 2 stating that basic research and development has been completed and the product may have potential value; in use evaluations/trials are now needed in an national health service clinical setting.

The Department is currently funding a project to evaluate environmental cleaning for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. As part of this Steris’ vaporised hydrogen peroxide equipment will be evaluated alongside wet disinfection in both a hospital side room and a controlled exposure chamber.