- Significant numbers of chickens on sale in UK shops are
contaminated with superbugs, a scientific survey commissioned by BBC One's
Real Story suggests.
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- Of the British-grown chickens analysed, over half were
contaminated with multi-drug resistant E.coli which is immune to the effects
of three or more antibiotics.
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- More than a third of the 147 samples, which included
overseas and UK produced chicken, had E.coli germs resistant to the important
antibiotic Trimethaprim which is used to treat bladder infections.
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- The Health Protection Agency scientists testing the meat
also found 12 chickens had antibiotic resistant Campylobacter.
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- And VRE, or Vancomycin Resistant Enteroccci, were in
1 in 25 of the samples, although more tests would be needed to confirm
the exact type of the bug found.
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- No organic chickens were used - 64 were from the UK and
83 from abroad.
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- The survey's results could partly explain a rise in the
number of women whose bladder infections did not respond to standard treatments,
a medical expert told the programme.
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- Dr Mike Millar, the head of Infection Control at St Barts
Hospital in London, said: "Potentially this is very worrying.
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- "We've known for years there've been outbreaks of
bladder infections in different parts of the world but we haven't really
known where the germs have been coming from.
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- "Potentially food could be a source."
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- In worst cases, bladder infections could lead to kidney
damage and the need for renal dialysis, he said.
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- Anna Sawkins, who suffered from recurrent bladder infections
caused by E.coli, told Real Story how she "went back to the doctors
hundreds of times and nothing was getting any better".
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- According to the latest figures, British animals consume
15 tonnes of Trimethaprim a year.
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- However, the Health Protection Agency says the main reason
E.coli has become resistant to the drugs we use to treat bladder infections
is the high use of antibiotics in humans.
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- Campylobacters
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- The World Health Organisation has named antibiotic resistance
as one of three major threats for the future.
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- Responding to the Real Story survey, leading WHO scientist
Stuart Levy said: "Attention should be given to how antibiotics are
used in animals so as to better treat them - but also to protect the spread
of antibiotic resistant bacteria from the farms into the cities and into
the people."
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- Bacteria in chicken is killed if the meat is cooked properly
and hygienically but one in three people in the UK get food poisoning each
year - and the most common cause of food poisoning is the bug Campylobacter.
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- Dr Caroline Willis, who led the team testing the chickens,
said: "In terms of antibiotic resistance, about a quarter of the Campylobacters
that we found were resistant to one or other of the antibiotics commonly
used to treat it."
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- With regards to the VRE found in the samples, the Health
Protection Agency recognised the problem but pointed out that although
VRE in chickens can lead to VRE in the human gut, it mainly only affects
people already ill in hospital.
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- The British Poultry Council disputed the validity of
the survey, saying it was not detailed enough and that previous research
pointed to lower levels of antibiotic resistance in chicken.
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- Spokesman Darren Pearson said: "There's overwhelming
evidence that the main reason for antibiotic resistance in humans is because
of the antibiotics prescribed for us rather than animals.
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- "It doesn't mean to say it's not possible for antibiotic
resistance to be transferred from animals to man but I think you've got
to focus on where the main concern lies."
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- © BBC MMV
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- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/real_story/4142486.stm
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