A hospital in London and another in Nottingham have confirmed they have treated patients with the new ’superbug’, which is resistant to the most powerful antibiotics.

There are fears that without vigilance the enzyme that allows any bacteria to become a superbug could become widespread in NHS hospitals.

It has infected around 50 Britons so far, many of whom returned to the UK after undergoing surgery in India or Pakistan.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) yesterday stepped up its warnings about the new gene called NDM-1, or New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamose after the place where it was first identified.