TWO wards at the Royal Bolton had to be evacuated and deep-cleaned as the hospital battled another new superbug.

Patients were temporarily transferred out of general surgery wards E3 and E4 after a ‘cluster’ of cases of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE).

The bacteria usually lives harmlessly in the gut of humans, but if they get into the wrong place — such as the bladder or bloodstream — they can cause infection.

The superbug, which was discovered earlier this month, is resistant to most of the antibiotics used to combat infection, making treatment much more difficult. In vulnerable patients it can also lead to further health problems such as pneumonia, urinary tract infections or sepsis.

Hospital bosses at the Bolton NHS Foundation Trust say they have created an incident team which meets on a regular basis and are in contact with Public Health England to manage the spread of infection.

A report to the board of directors at the hospital said: "Key actions include decanting and deep cleaning both wards, additional training and support for all clinical staff (nurses, medical staff and AHPs) and patients will be screened for CPE on admission to the ward and at regular intervals for an initial six month period at which point the situation will be reviewed."

Trish Armstrong-Child, Director of Nursing at Royal Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, said CPE is one of a growing number of bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics, such as MRSA or Clostridium Difficile (C. Difficile), following years of over-use of the drugs.

Last year the trust faced huge fines for the number of patients contracted C. Difficile while in hospital, but has dramatically reduced the amount after implementing an infection control plan and is now hitting its target for managing the spread of the superbug.

Ms Armstrong-Child said: “Public Health England has warned that nationally there is going to be an increase in antibiotic resistant bugs and here in Bolton we have been proactively managing this for some time.

“Infection prevention and control is one of our key Trust priorities and the work that has taken place over recent years has seen dramatic improvements.

“We have not had any cases of MRSA for nearly a year and have reduced greatly the number of cases of C. Difficile.”

CPE is not spread through the air, but may survive on equipment and surfaces including bedrails, chairs and door handles.

The bacteria can spread from one person to another by unwashed hands, and health officials urged patients and visitors to hospital to make sure their hands are washed and clean to reduce the risk of infection.

If a patient picks up a CPE infection, they may need to be moved into isolation to prevent it spreading to other people, while clinicians and visitors might have to take special precautions including wearing gloves and gowns.