A CUTTING edge decontamination device has helped bring an outbreak of 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 the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch last month.

Stewart Messer, from Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the Alex, said: “It decontaminates everything and kills all known germs.

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

The device has already been used successfully at the Alex 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.

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.

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

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

He added that 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.