Two thirds of fresh chickens are contaminated with an E.coli superbug
Experts fear infectious superbug may stay in the gut for years and has developed a resistance to some antibiotics
TWO-thirds of fresh chickens are contaminated with an E.coli superbug, government health inspectors have revealed.
Contamination levels are much higher than previously thought and could be a threat to public health.
The strain of the infectious bug has developed a resistance to some antibiotics, meaning people who fall ill could be more difficult to treat.
It is not the killer O157 food poisoning strain and does not cause the usual diarrhoea and vomiting.
But health experts fear it may stay in the gut for years and if someone affected later develops an infection the bug may make them resistant to vital antibiotics known as cephalosporins.
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Seventy-eight per cent of fresh chicken meat sold in England is now infected.
In Scotland the figure is 53 per cent, with levels of up to 41 per cent in Wales.
A previous small study carried out by the University of Cambridge found one in four samples contaminated.
But the government food and health probe of major chain stores plus other convenience stores and butchers was much bigger and found much higher infection rates.