AN East Lancashire firm's deadly weapon against hospital superbugs is being tested at health trusts across the UK.

Viroklenz Direct's Sanitair system, which filters infection-causing bacteria from the air, is already in use at a number of private hospitals and nursing homes.

And its makers say the units - which cost less than £400 to make - could dramatically cut MRSA and C. Difficile infections.

The company, based at Blackburn Technology Management Centre, Challenge Way, was formed five years ago and employs 10 people.

It began developing the product three years ago, after microbiologists first highlighted the role of airborne bugs in the spread of healthcare-acquired infections (HCAIs).

But there is a growing rift between doctors on the effectiveness of devices like the Sanitair - and the firm will have to win over top health experts if they want to realise their dream of installing it throughout the NHS.

The makers say the device uses fast, safe and effective biocides which kill bacteria from MRSA to bird flu, and the wall-mounted unit "cleans" all the air in a room up to 24 times an hour. The firm also sells smaller bedside units, and offers a home decontamination service.

Most doctors say the chances of actually contracting MRSA or C.Difficile from an airborne bug are very low, and the Department of Health concentrates on cleanliness of hands and surfaces in its fight against the bugs.

The company's distributors have managed to get the product trialled at nursing homes, private hospitals, and a handful of NHS trusts, but are struggling to sell the idea to most NHS hospitals.

Company director Stuart Prescott said: "More and more microbiologists are recognising the risks of airborne bacteria. We successfully tested this two years ago and our distributors are taking it to private hospitals and NHS Trusts, but there is still polarisation in views on airborne infections.

"Cleaning hands is very necessary, and we don't dispute that, but there is a lot of evidence that we need to fight these infections in the air, too."

Mark Casewell, professor of microbiology at the University of London, supported the case for tacking airborne bugs, saying: "Staphylococcus aureus spreads on millions of tiny skin particles, shed by carriers, drifting in the air, and MRSA are Staphylococcus aureus resistant to the antibiotic methicillin. To be truly effective, measures to contain MRSA must block airborne transmission."

Bur the Lancashire Telegraph's medical expert Dr Tom Smith said he was "very sceptical". He said: "MRSA and C. Difficile infections come from direct contact - the only way it could be caught from the air is if someone coughed and bacteria directly travelled that way from one person to another.

"You would have to be within two feet of them."

A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "The current evidence tells us that handwashing and good infection control practice provides the best protection against MRSA, however we continue to review the evidence base for these types of devices and are funding studies which examine the best ways to minimise infection risk."