MOST of Britain's hospitals are getting to grips with combating the spread of a killer bug, a senior Government health official said.
And hospitals in Huddersfield and Halifax were said to be doing well in the fight against the deadly infection.
Prof Brian Duerden, inspector of microbiology and infection control at the Department of Health, praised hospitals - as a new report was published stating healthcare trusts were not doing enough to prevent the spread of the infection clostridium difficile.
The study said more than a third of healthcare trusts did not routinely follow Government guidelines on the management of the bug, which killed 934 patients last year.
A spokesman for the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust reported rates of clostridium difficile infections that are comparable with other trusts in the region.
"When compared to other similar trusts nationally the trust performed better that the average, being ranked 43rd overall.
"Latest figures show there were 197 cases in the past year.
"While not all cases of clostridium difficile are preventable the trust has introduced a number of initiatives, based on Government guidelines, to decrease the incidence as far as it is possible to do so.
"Handwashing is promoted as the best method to prevent cross infection and this includes patients and visitors as well as staff washing hands.
"The laboratory provides rapid testing that can normally be performed within one day of the symptoms developing to ensure appropriate precautions and treatment are carried out at the earliest opportunity.
"There is also prudent antibiotic prescribing to reduce the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics.
"Patients with clostridium difficile infections are provided a single room with their own facilities where possible."
Clostridium difficile is a bacterium that lives harmlessly in the large intestine of about 3% of people although this percentage increases in the elderly, in those who have recurrent hospital admissions and who take antibiotics.
Occasionally clostridium difficile causes mild or severe diarrhoea, especially following antibiotic use. Most of those affected are 65-plus. Most make a full recovery.
