Royal Bolton Hospital has declared itself free from a Japanese fungus which has been found in 20 separate NHS trusts and hospitals in the UK.

Bolton NHS Foundation Trust labs have found no evidence of Candida auris which has infected or contaminated more than 200 patients in England.

The fungus was first found in Japan, then the UK in 2013 and infection rates have been going up.

Public Health England has published new guidance on the management

Richard Catlin, assistant director of infection prevention and control at Bolton said: “We have not identified any cases of candida auris in Bolton and we do follow best practice for infection prevention and control and laboratory testing.”

The fungus belongs to a family of yeasts that live on the skin and inside the human body.

People can carriers without realising, suffering no symptoms, but it can cause problems in hospitals by getting into wounds or the bloodstream.