A CUTTING edge decontamination device has helped bring an outbreak of the winter diarrhoea and vomiting bug norovirus under control in super quick time.

The Deprox device, about the size of a domestic bin, releases hydrogen peroxide vapour into the air, killing all germs in that part of the hospital while the unit is in operation.

The units, created by Hygiene Solutions, work by ‘misting’ or ‘fogging’ which kills strains of flu, norovirus, clostridium difficile and MRSA.

A device was used at Worcestershire Royal Hospital in Worcester and a second at the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch last month.

Stewart Messer, chief operating officer at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “It decontaminates everything and kills all known germs.

"It is the latest and most innovative method of controlling these bugs.”

Although the room is out of action for four hours, the actual decontamination cycle takes about two hours.

The device has already been used successfully at the Alexandra Hospital where four wards had been closed to admissions due to norovirus. The outbreak was cleared within five days as opposed to the usual two weeks.

The device was also used as part of the general cleaning regime on Beech ward at Worcestershire Royal Hospital in Worcester on Wednesday.

Mr Messer said research from the University of Cambridge had shown how effective the technique was and he had been alerted to the success of the units by one of the trust’s consultant microbiologists.

The units were ready to be deployed within 24 hours of Mr Messer making the decision to use them.

Mr Messer said: “One of the reasons an outbreak of norovirus at the Alexandra Hospital was so well controlled was because we introduced this.

“This system is an almost 100 per cent fail-safe.

“This is a good example of the trust adopting the latest technology.”

He said it would not only be used for outbreaks but pro-actively to fight hospital infections day-to-day, including systematically decontaminating wards and as part of the general cleaning regime. The trust leased the device rather than bought it so they could introduce it to ward areas immediately.

The Deprox units, which have been in development for two years, have been made by a company called Hygiene Solutions, supported by Cambridge University Hospitals.

Cambridge graduate microbiologist Rick Fentiman, the company’s technical director, said: “There is a lot of evidence to support the fact it can reduce outbreaks by half the time it takes to manage an outbreak using traditional methods.

"Should hospitals have an infection challenge they can call our 24 hour helpline in the same way as people call the AA.”