China says it has seen a sharp drop in the infection rates of the superbug MRSA, after the country began strict controls on antibiotic use.

"The infection rates of MRSA have dropped year by year. In many hospitals, the rates dropped from 70 percent to 30 or 40 percent due to the strict controls of antibiotics usage in recent years," said Professor Zheng Bo with China Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System.

Currently, due to stricter controls on the use of antibiotics, MRSA infection rates are dropping in over 1,000 hospitals monitored by the CARSS.

It comes as antibiotics are no longer purchasable in pharmacies without a doctor's prescription in large Chinese cities.

Doctors are required to use antibiotics as little as possible and it is now related to promotions and the hospital's evaluation.

Meanwhile, China is developing quicker detection methods, better drugs and even vaccines to fight superbugs.

But experts say more still needs to be done to educate the public on the scientific use of antibiotics, especially in less-developed regions.

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