Medical uses are also threatened. The number of tests coming back with resistance to carbapenems, one of the most powerful groups of antibiotics, has soared from a handful of cases in 2003 to more than 300 cases by 2010. "My lab is seeing an increasing number of resistant strains year on year," said Prof Neil Woodford, of the Health Protection Agency's antimicrobial resistance unit. Most cases are resistant to some drugs. Even worse, there are a few cases of strains which "no antibiotic can touch".