UK: Threat From ‘New E-Coli Superbug’ "Spreading"

An antibiotic-resistant strain of E.coli thought to be linked to imported meat is spreading rapidly, according to an investigation.

There have so far been two major outbreaks reported, in Southampton and Shropshire.

The Tonight programme, broadcast on Monday at 8pm, claims the bug has spread in the North of England, with the number of cases in Blackpool more than doubling in the last two years.

Dr Achyut Guleri, a consultant clinical microbiologist at Blackpool Victoria Hospital, told Tonight: "It's a problem which is rapidly and recently increasing in England.

"If a patient has got an infection with an ESBL producer then we run out of options of how to treat this patient. It looms like an emerging giant. Basically it's very important that this becomes known to the public, that there is a problem."

A new superbug that scientists believe is brought into Britain through the food chain is infecting about 30,000 people a year, according to government experts.

Research has found that between 10% and 14% of those who are infected with the drug-resistant form of E-coli die within 30 days of catching the bug, which would suggest 3,000-4,200 deaths. This would be double the number of deaths from MRSA.

Unlike traditional forms of E-coli, the drug-resistant strain Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lacta-mase (ESBL) affects healthy young adults as well as the elderly. Doctors say the Health Protection Agency (HPA), the government body responsible for protecting the public from infections, has failed to recognise the scale of the problem and needs to do more to control the spread of the bacteria.