Cases of the hospital superbug Clostridium difficile increased by 10% in the space of three months, according to the latest report from Health Protection Scotland.
The figures, for the last three months of last year, show a total of 1608 cases in the 65-plus age group to which surveillance testing is applied. This compares with 1459 cases from July to September.
C. diff is a potentially fatal bug which mainly affects the elderly. The agency's figures show that between October 2006 and September 2007 there were 6035 cases among pensioners who had recently been in contact with the health service.
The figures complete the first year of testing under the C. difficile Associated Disease Surveillance programme and Health Protection Scotland said it was not possible to draw conclusions about changes in cases or rates at this stage.
The report suggests the increase in average incidence could be due to seasonal variation.
Four health boards - Ayrshire and Arran, Highland, Shetland and Western Isles - reported a reduction from the previous quarter.
Nine had an increase - Borders, Dumfries and Galloway, Fife, Forth Valley, Grampian, Lanarkshire, Lothian, Orkney, and Tayside.
Greater Glasgow and Clyde was about the same.
Hospital-acquired infections now cost an estimated £183m a year to treat, and the Scottish Government has already earmarked £45m and drawn up an action plan to tackle them.
A new laboratory has been set up to speed diagnosis instead of samples having to be sent to Wales for analysis.
Guidelines issued to help eradicate C. diff in hospitals include improved hand hygiene and tighter infection control practices.
An audit of hand hygiene in the NHS in Scotland showed an overall compliance rate in handwashing of 79%.
Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon set a target of 90% compliance for hand hygiene by November this year.
C. diff is an anaerobic bacteria, which usually grows in the large intestine.
It can cause diarrhoea, bleeding of the colon and peritonitis.
Spores can survive for a long time in the environment, with areas around hospital beds and toilet areas common.
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