UK warns of superbug named after New Delhi
London, Aug. 11: British scientists on Wednesday issued an urgent warning against the spread of drug-resistant bacteria, which is widespread in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The superbug is so closely linked to the Indian subcontinent that it has been named as NDM-1 (New Delhi Metallo-1).
The British researchers warned that an enzyme, called New Delhi metallo-ß-lactamase-1, or NDM-1, allows bacteria to be highly resistant to almost all antibiotics. NDM-1 is an enzyme that can live inside different bacteria and any bacteria which carries it is resistant to carbapenem antibiotics, one of the most powerful antibiotics.
The British scientists have blamed medical tourism in the Indian subcontinent for the spread of the bug in the UK.
The superbug was found in about 50 patients in the UK, of whom around 37 had travelled to India or Pakistan for medical procedures including cosmetic surgery, according to the study in the journal Lancet.
The study warned against the spread of drug-resistant superbug that could lead to the end of antibiotics. “The potential of NDM-1 to be a worldwide public health problem is great, and coordinated international surveillance is needed,” according to Dr Timothy Walsh of Cardiff University, who led the study.
The suberbug is mostly found in E Coli, a common cause of urinary tract infections and pneumonia, which is highly resistant to antibiotics.
The enzyme can easily be copied and transferred between different bacteria.
Indian medical tourism will come under scanner of the health authorities worldwide after the warning by the British scientists.
“India also provides cosmetic surgery for other Europeans and Americans, and it is likely NDM-1 will spread worldwide,” the study warned.
Britain’s health ministry said that it had been alerted to the danger of the superbug in January.
The main worry for the scientists is the resistance of the superbug to antibiotics.
Comments
If this superbug is having
Dr Ram Shrivastava
13 Aug 2010 - 14:00
If this superbug is having any existance than this is the outcome of 300 years of British Rule in India .
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