The number of people contracting MRSA and clostridium difficile has fallen, new figures have shown.

Data published by the Health Protection Agency showed a drop in the number of infections from April to June 2009.

There were 509 cases of MRSA in England, which was a 39 per cent drop on the same quarter last year and a 27 per cent drop on the previous quarter this year.

There were also 6,855 cases of C.Diff in people aged two and over between April and June 2009.

This is a 37 per cent drop on the same quarter last year and an 18 per drop on the previous quarter in 2009.

Figures obtained from Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust, which has one of the best records in the West Midlands for fighting infections, reveal it is still reducing the number of cases.

It was well within reduction targets last year.

Between April and July this year trust had two reported cases of MRSA bacteraemia, compared to four during the same period last year. In the same period there were 30 cases of C.Diff, compared to 39 during the same four months in 2008/09.

Spokesman Andy Rogers said: “The trust has continued to make improvements in tackling healthcare associated infections after seeing cases of MSRA and Clostridium difficile fall last year by 58 per cent and 55 per cent respectively.”

Dr Christine McCartney, executive director for the HPA’s healthcare-associated infection and anti-microbial resistance prog- ramme, said that infection control was still “top of the agenda” for the NHS. She said the latest figures were “impressive” but the health service could not afford to become complacent.

Health minister Mike O’Brien said NHS staff should be proud.

“However, we are clear that one avoidable infection is one infection too many and we continue to work tirelessly to reduce infection rates further,” he added.

By Health Correspondent Dave Morris