There are far more chickens in the world today than there were just a few decades ago.
Since the 1960s, their numbers have increased sevenfold, and chickens now account for around 70 percent of all bird biomass on Earth, according to a study published in Current Issues in Molecular Biology.
According to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers analysed nearly 2,800 bacterial samples from chickens and wild birds across 30 countries.
The aim was to examine how the bacterium has evolved over time, according to The Guardian.
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Bacteria are changing
The study shows that the bacterium Campylobacter is becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics.
This could make it more difficult to treat people who become seriously ill.
The researchers also believe that modern farming practices, in which large numbers of animals are kept together in one place, provide bacteria with greater opportunities to spread and develop new characteristics.
New bacterial variants
Campylobacter is the most common bacterial cause of diarrhea disease worldwide.
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According to the researchers, between 60 and 80 percent of infections are linked to contact with raw chicken.
The bacterium is destroyed by proper cooking, but it can spread during the handling of raw meat.
Intensive chicken production has increased the exchange of Campylobacter between wild birds and chickens.
According to the researchers, this exchange has become around 100 times greater since 1900 than it was before chickens were domesticated.
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This could increase the risk of new bacterial variants emerging that are more difficult to control.
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