A leading health expert last night warned that the virulent hospital bug C Diff could now be a bigger threat than MRSA after it emerged that 16 patients were found to have died in the country's biggest outbreak.

A leading health expert last night warned that the virulent hospital bug C Diff could now be a bigger threat than MRSA after it emerged that 16 patients were found to have died in the country's biggest outbreak.

An investigation by the infection control team at Vale of Leven Hospital in West Dunbartonshire revealed 54 people had been treated for a particularly deadly strain of C Diff in the six months to June 1, Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS said yesterday.

Eight people died as a direct result of the 027 strain and the bug was found to have contributed to the deaths of a further eight people, the health board said.

Another six patients with the infection died at the hospital, but the board said the C Diff played no role in these cases.

The outbreak is the clearest sign yet that C Diff has taken root in Scotland. It had previously been considered more of a problem south of the border. The first Scottish case of 027 was diagnosed in October 2006.

Hugh Pennington, emeritus professor of bacteriology at Aberdeen University, described the latest outbreak as a major threat to Scottish hospitals.

He said: "There's no absolute proof, but it does seem to be particularly good at spreading in hospitals and that may be one of the reasons it has become more common."

He added that there was reason to believe C Diff was more of a priority than MRSA, warning: "A lot more people die from C Diff and it kills people quite speedily compared with MRSA, which can take months to kill."

After an emergency outbreak control meeting on Tuesday to discuss the latest worrying developments, it was agreed to conduct an urgent review of the use of antibiotics, which can contribute to C Diff infections by destroying other bacteria in the gut that would normally fight against it.

The board's hand hygiene co-ordinator has also been sent to the hospital to investigate improvements to hand-washing facilities and compliance with hygiene protocols at the hospital.

Of the 54 infected patients, only 13 had contracted C Diff before entering the hospital.

The emergency measures follow the completion of an investigation of C Diff cases in the Clyde area ordered in March after a "cluster" of three people were found to have the bug - two at Vale of Leven and one at the Royal Alexandria Hospital in Paisley. One of those patients died.

A further meeting of the outbreak control team, which includes members of the health board's Public Health Protection Unit, Health Protection Scotland and infection control leaders, is scheduled for this afternoon.

Hygiene experts last night warned the growth of C Diff, particularly the 027 strain, raised questions about the suitability of hygiene procedures introduced in UK hospitals to tackle the spread of MRSA.

While alcohol wipes and gels common on Scottish wards are seen as effective in combating MRSA, they do not kill C Diff spores and there is some evidence alcohol may even promote their growth.

Mr Pennington called for a Scottish-wide review to examine whether it was necessary to revert to "old-fashioned" hand-washing methods.

"One of the issues is that there is so much emphasis on alcohol gels and wipes. For MRSA, these are fine but they don't do much to combat C Diff," he said.

"We may need to go back to the old-fashioned method of hand-washing in sinks using soap as it appears to be the only thing that keeps C Diff at bay."

A spokeswoman for Health Protection Scotland, the NHS agency tasked with preventing disease and infection outbreaks, said it supported measures taken by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and was working with infection control teams from other health boards to contain the spread of C Diff.

Dr Syed Ahmed, chair of the NHSGGC outbreak control team, said he was "particularly concerned" about the number of deaths at Vale of Leven between last December and June 1.