A BLACKBURN company is at the forefront of the international fight against infection in operating theatres and dental surgeries.

Prestige Medical is a world leader in the design and manufacture of autoclaves -- the equipment used to sterilise surgical instruments.

The company exports to more than 60 countries worldwide, from Australia to Zimbabwe, and has developed a range of autoclaves that way ahead of the competition.

And with growing concern that traditional sterilisation techniques may be ineffective in in halting the transmission of the CJD virus, Prestige Medical has introduced a new family of autoclaves which eliminates any risk.

Managing director Robert Thoburn said Prestige Medical was the only company in the world whose autoclave was accredited by the British Dental Association.

"We are different from our competitors," he said. "We design products to ensure that international standards are not just met, but surpassed.

" We have invested more than £1 million in our latest range of autoclaves to keep us at the forefront of infection control and set the standards for us to follow." Sales director Greg Annalls said that while the potential risk of the CJD virus being transmitted through medical instruments was still theoretical, Prestige had taken the precautions to ensure the risk did not become a reality.

"Because our autoclave is the most advanced on the market and due to its CJD-preventative features, we were more than happy to supply four of our machines to the CJD testing centre in Edinburgh to help scientists with their research, " he said.

Prestige Medical, which employs 78 people, moved to its state-of-the-art £3 million factory in Clarendon Road in 1992. The company entered the infection control sector in the mid-1980s when it developed a revolutionary steriliser for developing countries on behalf of the World Health Organisation. Since then, more than 500,000 of the machines have been supplied to UNICEF.

Continuing investment in technology, new product development and staff training has kept the company in its market-leading position.