NUMBERS of hospital patients coming down with a potentially deadly stomach bug look set to halve in York and Selby this year.

The Government released the first official figures charting the rise of the hospital infection Clostridium Difficile (C Difficile), earlier this year.

The bug, which thrives in dirty conditions, leaves

sufferers - especially the elderly - with debilitating symptoms, such as

diarrhoea.

The Government revealed 158 York Hospital patients aged over 65 went down with the bug last year - which ranked it in the lowest 30 hospital trusts in the country.

Now, York Hospitals Trust has released infection numbers covering patients of all ages during 2004 and 2005, which also cover Selby Hospital.

They show that last year, a total of 194 in-patients were hit with the potentially life-threatening bug.

But so far this year, only 64 in-patients have come down with it.

Mike Proctor, director of nursing, said it was not possible to tell whether the cases had occurred as a result of surgery, but confirmed 15 of this year's affected patients had undergone some form of operation.

Scarborough and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust, which runs hospitals in Scarborough, Bridlington, Whitby and Malton, revealed 81 patients had been hit with C Difficile last year, of which 23 cases had been between October and December.

In January to March this year, 31 cases of the infection had been reported.

Mr Proctor said a tighter control of what antibiotics were given to patients was helping to combat the infection in York and Selby.

"The results are encouraging so far this year," he said. "But I never get complacent.

"We want to see substantial year-on-year decreases. We are improving our infection control - we expect to see a drive-down in all types of bug.

"It (C Difficile) is a bacteria that's normally present in your gut anyway - but antibiotics will destroy the other bacteria and that one is left. Then it's allowed to flourish."

While simple hand-washing techniques and a special gel can help combat MRSA, C Difficile was a "spore" and more difficult to kill in this way, he explained.

What is C Difficile?

C Difficile is an infection in the intestine which causes diarrhoea and colitis, an inflamed colon.

It affects those who have been treated with antibiotics, and most infections occur in hospitals. Mandatory testing for the bug came into force in January 2004. Last year, 44,488 cases were reported nationwide.

Updated: 10:25 Thursday, November 17, 2005