MORE than 150 elderly York Hospital patients have caught a potentially deadly stomach bug, official figures reveal - but rates in the city compared favourably with many other areas.

The Department of Health has released its first official figures into the rise of hospital bug Clostridium Difficile (C Difficile), pictured, which thrives in dirty conditions.

The statistics revealed that 158 over-65s who were patients at York Hospital last year came down with the infection, which can be life-threatening.

Like MRSA, it can be overcome with simple hand-washing and cleanliness techniques.

The city's NHS Trust was ranked in the lowest 30 for rates of the bug out of about 170 NHS trusts nationwide, with pensioners catching the bug at a rate of 0.93 per thousand overnight stays.

Worst in the country was the George Eliot Hospital, in Warwickshire, where 342 over-65s caught C Difficile - a rate of 4.05 per thousand single night stays.

Today, Mike Proctor, York Hospital's chief operating officer and director of nursing, said he was "pleased" with the relatively low levels of the bug - but hoped standards would continue to improve.

"These figures show us in a pretty good light, but I wouldn't want to be complacent about that. The objective for the next year is to improve," he said.

Mr Proctor said the hospital was employing the same practices to combat C Difficile as it used for MRSA, which included cleaning hands with a special alcohol solution before and after coming into contact with patients.

This year York Hospital's improved cleanliness rating won it back a coveted third star, in the NHS performance ratings.

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. The elderly are particularly vulnerable.

Isolating patients who have caught the bug, washing hands, wearing gloves and aprons and use of chlorine disinfectant are all ways of combating the bug.

Mandatory testing for C Difficile came into force in January 2004. Before that, cases were only reported on a voluntary basis. In 2002, 28,000 cases were reported. Last year, the figure shot up to 44,488.

The most highly ranked hospital in the region was Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Healthcare NHS Trust - which runs Scarborough and Bridlington Hospitals. The rate of over-65s to come down with the bug was 0.7 per thousand overnight stays - 90 people last year.

Hospital communications manager Gilly Collinson said the trust had come ninth in the country when compared with all hospitals - and just fourth in comparison with those of a similar size. "It's obviously very, very pleasing," she said.

Updated: 10:42 Wednesday, August 31, 2005