THE potentially lethal bug MRSA was found in five patients at Wycombe and Stoke Mandeville hospitals in April, a report has revealed.

The bug found was the more serious form of the infection, known as MRSA Bacteraemia, which is found in the bloodstream.

Bucks Hospitals NHS Trust was told in a report on Wednesday that three of the five patients caught the bug while in hospital.

The trust had 30 cases of the bug in the last financial year - four more than it hoped to achieve.

It has vowed to keep a close eye on cases and reduction methods.

Dr Graz Luzzi, deputy medical director, said: "Regarding MRSA in April the issue we have focused on is the Bacteraemia rates because in general, our trust reports one or two MRSA Bacteraemia per month.

"In April five were reported and three of these were hospital acquired and they came under particular scrutiny."

Bernard Williams, trust chairman, said: "It is something we need to check rigorously."

Dr Luzzi said there was also a small outbreak of MRSA colonisation at a Stoke Mandeville ward in March, which was quickly addressed. This is the less serious form where the bug lives on the skin, but does not enter the blood.

Although it was not quantified as to how many people were affected in the outbreak, the term refers to two or more patients.

Dr Luzzi said: "This led to the creation of a cohort (isolation) bay for about a week and the position has returned to normal in that ward and some recommendations made."

The trust meeting heard that the rates of Clostridium difficile found at Wycombe Hospital for March and April were "substantially low" compared to the national average.

Three cases were detected in March and three in April, both of which were contracted in hospital itself. Overall seven cases were found in March and five in April.

There was also only one case of MRSA Bacteraemia found across both hospitals in March.

Dr Luzzi later told Midweek that overall rates remained low but it was impossible to stop people coming into hospitals having already contracted the bug.

He said: "We strive to go down to zero (infection rates) but it is difficult because we do have community cases coming in."