Researchers have said that the number of cases of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus has decreased by 40 percent in French hospitals.

The impact of new national surveillance program to reduce healthcare-acquired infections was evaluated by Dr. Laetitia May-Michelangeli of the Ministry of Health and Sports and Dr. Christian Brun-Buisson, chairwoman of the national infection control program at Hospital Henri Mondor in Paris, and colleagues.

The researchers evaluated data compiled from mandatory annual reports of hospitals from 2005-2008. A random sampling of the hospitals' annual reports was verified using health and sports ministry audits.

May-Michelangeli said in a statement, "Many of the target objectives have been achieved. Most healthcare facilities -- 89 percent -- have reached the best performance class for the global indicator of HAI control based on facility type, resources and activities."

May-Michelangeli further said that French media report the best and worst performing hospitals based on each facility's annual report. (With Inputs from Agencies)