Box 8-Costs ofanMRSA outbreak

resistant S aureus is about seven times that of treating a bacteraemia with methicillin sensitive S aureus.30 Containment measures use increasingly scarce resources. A 1987 study in the North East Thames region put the recurrent annual financial cost then of containing outbreaks at around £250 000 in the worst affected hospitals. In addition, there were capital costs associated with the establishment of an isolation ward. Another cost that must not be neglected is that of litigation by infected patients, a growing hazard of outbreaks in hospitals. Hospitals then need to show that well documented and effective control measures are in place. Furthermore, infection control now features as one of the main quality indicators in contracts between purchaser and provider agencies.