THREE cases of MRSA have been recorded in Oxford during this financial year.

The figures were revealed in the Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Board Meeting report that was released last week.

One case of the potentially fatal superbug was reported in May and two were reported last month.

Melanie Proudfoot, a spokeswoman for Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said it was routine for cases to be reported every month.

She said: "Sometimes a patient will already have MRSA when they come to the hospital and we find out they have it as a result of the tests we have to do with every patient."

The figures only take into account cases from April to June this year.

In 2015/16, a total of 14 cases were reported.

MRSA is a type of bacteria that is resistant to a number of widely used antibiotics, which means infections can be harder to treat other than other bacterial infections.

It is usually spread through skin-to-skin contact with someone who has an MRSA infection or has the bacteria living on their skin.

The bacteria can also be spread through contact with contaminated objects such towels, sheets, clothes, dressings, surfaces, door handles and floors.