United States Potentially infected by Superbug NDM-1

A new superbug that a British health related journal called attention to last month has emerged within the United States of America Individuals infected with the superbug known as NDM-1 turned up in doctor's offices in Massachusetts, California and Illinois. Many think the bug must have come from India. This makes sense since all three people with the disease had previously been visiting India. British citizens had been trying to get cheap plastic surgery in India while coming home with the superbug which is why initially, the NDM-1 was blamed on health related tourism. The superbug victims from America were not medical tourists on their trips which lead scientists to be concerned that NDM-1 might become a worldwide challenge soon.

Superbug attacks in United States of America traced to India

Recently discovered cases of superbug infection in the United States of America, along with two others in Canada, involve individuals who received medical care in India. The woman in California that got NDM-1 had medical care in India after being in an auto accident, reports Red Orbit. In Illinois, a man with a pre-existing medical conditions and a urinary catheter contracted the superbug infection when traveling in India. Before coming to the U.S., the woman in Massachusetts had surgery and chemotherapy. All of the victims survived although the superbug would not die with antibiotics that are meant to treat drug-resistant attacks. In Pakistan, there was a Belgian man who was in an auto incident and hospitalized in Pakistan. He was the first of the NDM-1 superbug victims to have a recorded death.

Should the whole globe be confronted by the superbug?

Last month, cases of NDM-1 infection involving Britons who traveled to India for cheap plastic surgery were documented in an article in Lancet, a British health related journal. In the Lancet article, scientists describe NDM-1 as a gene that mutates bacteria to become resistant to the strongest antibiotics available. In India, there is a lot of bacteria, says Columbia Broadcasting System News, carrying the NDM-1 gene. The NDM-1 gene is being shown other places to be increasing. These places contain Bangladesh and Pakistan. The superbug is hitching rides worldwide with individuals visiting those undeveloped countries.

Overpopulation is in India

Medical specialists attending an international meeting of microbiologists and doctors in Boston this week are very concerned about NDM-1, particularly because of its prevalence in India. In India, one can get antibiotics over the counter for cheap, says the Boston Herald. If one were to use it inappropriately, it would then become more resistant. The deadly bacteria would become something we could not stop. NDM-1 goes faster where poor sanitation is more prevalent. This is really bad when germs grow in the gut. Timothy Walsh in the Lancet article explained to the Boston Herald that India is somewhere the bug can spread easily because of the unsanitary conditions. The superbug needs six to eight antibiotics to fight it off. Unfortunately, right now, only a couple of them work.


Find more info on this subject:

Red Orbit

redorbit.com/news/health/1916458/superbug_found_in_3_us_states_global_response_needed/

CBS News

cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20016335-10391704.html

Boston Herald

boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/09/14/superbug_patient_treated_at_mgh/