The number of babies and children infected with a potentially fatal form of MRSA has doubled in a year, government research has revealed.

Alarmingly, three-quarters were less than a year old and, of these, four out of ten were under one month. The findings will fuel concerns that the superbug is posing an increasing danger to babies and infants and that poor hospital hygiene is to blame.

Last year a survey by the Patients’ Association suggested that newborn babies at nine out of ten hospitals in England are ‘carrying’ the bug in their noses or on their skin. It poses a serious danger, however, if it enters the bloodstream - typically through an open wound or an intravenous drip. Premature babies are at particular risk.

Preliminary results from the HPA study show that 147 youngsters suffered bloodstream infections in 2005.