The National Health Service may be beginning to win the battle against two hospital-acquired infections.

The number of cases of MRSA declined by 10 per cent in the year to April 2007, compared with the previous year. There were 6,381 MRSA bloodstream infections in 2006-07, compared with 7,069 in 2005-06.

And while infections by C lostridium difficile have yet to show a year-on-year fall, the quarterly figures have stopped rising. Between April and June this year there were 13,660 C diff infections, compared with 14,682 in the same quarter last year.

Georgia Duckworth of the Health Protection Agency’s centre for infections, which published the figures, said it was “brilliant” news.

“If you asked me, I would have told you that you could not turn round the figures,” she said. While the trend for MRSA was clear, she said, that for C diff had to be interpreted more carefully. “What it now looks like is that we might be going into the plateau,” she said. “Let’s hope this marks the beginning of a plateauing that goes into a downturn.”

Professor Peter Boriello, director for the HPA’s centre for infections, said: “These latest figures show a continuing downward trend in MRSA blood-poisoning infections.

“Some NHS Trusts have made a significant impact on their MRSA infection rates against a backdrop of increasing workloads.

“However, more work needs to be done to see the same level of decrease with C diff.”

The HPA called the fall “a major achievement”. Alan Johnson, the Health Secretary, said: “It is encouraging that today’s figures from the HPA show continued reductions in MRSA and C difficile infections in those who are most at risk - the over-65s.

“Healthcare-associated infections pose a significant challenge for health services around the world, including the NHS, and we are determined to tackle them.

“We are the only country in the world to impose mandatory, universal surveillance of MRSA and C difficile, including for the first time gathering information on C difficile in those under 65.

“We have also raised the bar to ensure that the highest possible hygiene standards are set for trusts.”

Mr Johnson yesterday visited the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, where an outbreak of C diff in 2005 led to at least 90 deaths.

He announced the go-ahead for a new 512-bed hospital at Pembury, with work due to start in the new year, subject to final approval. It will be the first NHS hospital to be built with a private room for every patient.

Mr Johnson also announced that an extra £350,000 would be made available to the trust to carry out a deep clean of its hospitals.

“Since the C diff outbreak in 2005 the trust has taken significant steps to bring down the incidence of infections and to make sure they have proper processes in place for managing any future outbreaks” he said.

“It is vital that standards continue to improve at all three hospitals.”

Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrat health spokesman, said: “Any improvement in infection rates is of course welcome, but we must not be complacent. There is still much more to be done. One-off deep cleans will not guarantee a hospital culture where hygiene is a top priority. The Government must tackle the hospital overcrowding which hampers efforts to keep wards infection-free.”

Andrew Lansley, for the Conservatives, said: “These latest figures show that there are still far too many cases of C diff in our hospitals.”

Yesterday’s HPA report also detailed infection rates for another bug resistant to some antibiotics - glycopeptide-resistant enterococci.

The figures showed there were 903 cases reported in NHS trusts in England between October 2005 and September 2006, a 19 per cent increase on the 758 in the previous year.

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