A very dangerous hospital infection is killing a shocking number of patients, according to a recent investigation.

For no less than 40 years, Harborview Medical Center in Seattle hid the alarming situation from the public. Over the past ten years, a growing number of people have become infected with MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and casualties have become more frequent at the same time as the infection became stronger.

"Many hospitals have ignored MRSA for decades," said Dr. William Jarvis, an expert in infectious diseases and former acting director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cases of infections with MRSA in Washington hospitals have jumped from 141 people annually to more than 4,700 people a year.

However, it seems that medical units are not required to write down in reports the number of infection rates; health regulators don’t ask them to do so.

The Seattle Times looked at millions of computerized hospital records, death certificates, as well as other documents with the purpose of determining the rate of the antibiotic resistant MRSA hospital infection. The report disclosed more than 670 previously hidden deaths that were caused by the MRSA infection.

The MRSA hospital infection can be spread by touch or contact. Some patients harbor it on their skin or nose without harm - these patients are said to be colonized, but not infected. People become infected when the bacteria penetrate the body through a cut, a graze or any break in the skin.