DOCTORS in the North-East have developed a pioneering treatment to combat the latest hospital superbug.
Outbreaks of the infection clostridium difficile (CD) have more than trebled during the past five years.
The bug is viewed as a high risk to hospitals because it produces spores resistant to normal methods of cleaning, including the alcohol gels being used to tackle MRSA.
Now, specialists at South Tyneside District Hospital, in South Tyneside, have come up with a new way of treating the infection that has attracted national and worldwide attention.
The research team, headed by Colin Rees, have developed a treatment for patients who fail to respond to traditional antibiotics.
Dr Rees, a consultant gastroenterologist at the hospital, said: "This will help save lives. It will help get rid of the infection quicker."
Dr Rees added: "What we are essentially doing is giving people's immune systems a boost, helping rid the body of the infection.
"It's proving particularly successful for old and frail patients who haven't responded to antibiotics."
The team has just presented its findings to the American Gastroenterology Association, in Chicago.
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