An Enfield woman who campaigned to expose the number of deaths caused by a superbug which claimed the life of her grandmother is to appear on national television to raise awareness.

Graziella Kontkowski, of Palmers Green, will feature on ITV1's Tonight with Trevor McDonald, on December 4, to talk about her experience of the lethal bug clostridium difficile (c-diff).

The programme, entitled, The New Superbug, will focus on how the infection poses a greater threat to patients than MRSA, leading to fresh concerns about hospital hygiene.

The bug, which is seven times more common than MRSA, was linked to 934 deaths across the UK in 2003, and is potentially lethal if contracted by the elderly.

Mrs Kontkowski is the founder of the only support group in the UK which helps other families affected by C-diff.

Her website C-diff Support receives up to 4,000 hits a day from all over the UK and across the world.

She launched the campaign following the death of her 93-year-old grandmother, Caterina Cotrulia, who died at the North Middlesex Hospital in September 2005.

Mrs Cotrulia died after contracting c-diff, a bug which attacks the body, causing severe diarrhoea and dehydration, during her stay in Michael Bates Ward in Sterling Way, Edmonton.

Her death sparked accusations of gross negligence after one other patient died and around 30 fell ill as the infection swept through the wards.

Mrs Kontkowski said: "I am concerned c-diff is on the increase in hospitals. They are failing to take measures to prevent this from happening and are not giving us adequate information. They seem to be playing the whole issue down.

"We need to see patients isolated quickly and effective cleaning regimes put into practice to prevent further cross infection to other patients.

"These simple measures should be all that is needed to keep this lethal infection at bay."

A spokesman for North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust claimed that since Mrs Cotrulia's death a number of changes had been made to tackle c-diff.

He said: "Patients found to have c-diff are now given comprehensive information and advice about the infection, as are their families and carers.

He added: "Since Autumn 2005 any diagnosis of c-diff is reported to the Department of Health, whatever the outcome for the patient.

"The trust is constantly striving to reduce the risk of infection."

Visit Mrs Kontkowski's website at www.cdiff-support.co.uk