HOSPITAL bosses have wiped out a major superbug— and are now targeting outbreaks of new superbugs.

There have been no cases of MRSA at the Royal Bolton Hospital for 116 days.

And there were just 24 people infected with Clostridium difficile between April and September.

Now, chiefs at the hospital are turning their attention to battling new superbugs, MSSA, and E.Coli.

Maria Sinfield, head of clinical practice and deputy director of nursing, said: “I am delighted with the reduction, it’s fantastic, but we are not complacent and the work carries on.

“We have made infection control everybody’s business which is one of the reasons we are doing so well.

“We ave a whole range of work going on around this area and every case of MRSA and C diff is scrutinised.

“ Now we want to expand it to look at other infections.”

Bosses have beaten the superbugs by making dealing with the problem a part of all training in the hospital.

Hand-washing is also promoted across the hospital and every patient who has invasive devices, such as such as intravenous drips and feeding tubes, as they are at higher risk, are closely monitored. Every case of MRSA and Clostridium difficile is examined so lessons can be learned.

The same approach will now be used to deal with MSSA and E.Coli.

Ms Sinfield added: “A lot of things we are already doing around MRSA and C diff do impact on the other infections.

“But there might be more we are able to do, so we will closely monitor these other conditions.”

The trust came under fire in 2007/8 when MRSA cases, which can lead to widespread infections, reached 31 and 20 to 30 patients a month contracted C diff, which can cause severe diarrhoea.