Doctors trialling 'poo pills' to flush out dangerous superbugs

UK doctors are attempting to clear dangerous superbug infections using "poo pills" containing freeze-dried faeces.

The stool samples come from healthy donors and are packed with good bacteria.

Early data suggests superbugs can be flushed out of the dark murky depths of the bowel and replaced with a mix of healthy gut bacteria.

It is a new approach to tackling infections that resist antibiotics, which are thought to kill a million people each year.

The focus is on the bowels which are "the biggest reservoir of antibiotic resistance in humans" says Dr Blair Merrick, who has been testing the pills at Guys and St Thomas' hospitals.

Drug-resistant superbugs can escape their intestinal home and cause trouble elsewhere in the body – such as urinary tract or bloodstream infections.

"So there's a lot of interest in 'can you get rid of them from the gut":[]}