A new class of drug-resistant superbugs may be spreading across the globe, according to a report published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases on Thursday, Aug. 11.
At least two people have died in the U.K. while infected. However, doctors are unsure whether the bug was the primary cause of death as the patients were already in intensive care with other illnesses.
In the U.K., about 50 infections have been reported so far. Seventeen of those infected had direct contact with India or Pakistan, and many patients who had the infection had been admitted to hospitals there. Several had travelled to India for cosmetic surgery.
According to BBC News, infections have already been passed from patient to patient in U.K. hospitals. Similar infections have been seen in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the Netherlands.
The key factor in the Lancet report is an enzyme which researchers are finding in common gut bacteria like E. coli. The gene that produces New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase 1 (NDM-1) renders bacteria resistant to most antibiotics, including powerful carbapenems often used as a last resort when other antibiotics fail.
Infections can occur through food, some types of bodily contact, or unsanitary medical procedures. Some NDM-1-positive infections have been effectively treated with multiple antibiotics given simultaneously. However, scientists identified at least one strain not affected by any known antibiotics.
Researchers suspect poor control over antibiotic prescriptions in the Indian subcontinent may have allowed the NDM-1 gene to evolve. And poor sanitation probably enabled the bacteria spread from person to person and share the gene with other bacteria.
“This research illustrates the relentless evolution and spread of antibiotic-resistance genes,” said Christopher Thomas, professor of molecular genetics, University of Birmingham.
“It illustrates the importance of considering health issues as a world issue—how antibiotics are prescribed and controlled in one part of the world can very rapidly have consequences elsewhere,” he said, according to Channel 4 News.
Reference: Thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(10)70143-2/fulltext
At least two people have died in the U.K. while infected. However, doctors are unsure whether the bug was the primary cause of death as the patients were already in intensive care with other illnesses.
In the U.K., about 50 infections have been reported so far. Seventeen of those infected had direct contact with India or Pakistan, and many patients who had the infection had been admitted to hospitals there. Several had travelled to India for cosmetic surgery.
According to BBC News, infections have already been passed from patient to patient in U.K. hospitals. Similar infections have been seen in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the Netherlands.
The key factor in the Lancet report is an enzyme which researchers are finding in common gut bacteria like E. coli. The gene that produces New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase 1 (NDM-1) renders bacteria resistant to most antibiotics, including powerful carbapenems often used as a last resort when other antibiotics fail.
Infections can occur through food, some types of bodily contact, or unsanitary medical procedures. Some NDM-1-positive infections have been effectively treated with multiple antibiotics given simultaneously. However, scientists identified at least one strain not affected by any known antibiotics.
Researchers suspect poor control over antibiotic prescriptions in the Indian subcontinent may have allowed the NDM-1 gene to evolve. And poor sanitation probably enabled the bacteria spread from person to person and share the gene with other bacteria.
“This research illustrates the relentless evolution and spread of antibiotic-resistance genes,” said Christopher Thomas, professor of molecular genetics, University of Birmingham.
“It illustrates the importance of considering health issues as a world issue—how antibiotics are prescribed and controlled in one part of the world can very rapidly have consequences elsewhere,” he said, according to Channel 4 News.
Reference: Thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(10)70143-2/fulltext
