Experts say new study is proof NDM-1 is widely circulating in the environment
SNIP
LONDON — A deadly superbug was found in about a quarter of water samples taken from drinking supplies and puddles on the streets of New Delhi, according to a new study.
..Experts say it's the latest proof that the new drug-resistant bacteria, known as NDM-1, named for New Delhi, is widely circulating in the environment — and could potentially spread to the rest of the world.
The superbug can only be treated with a couple of highly toxic and expensive antibiotics. Since it was first identified in 2008, it has popped up in a number of countries, including the United States, Australia, Britain, Canada and Sweden.
Most of those infections were in people who had recently traveled to or had medical procedures in India, Pakistan or Bangladesh.
"This is not a problem that is looming in the future ... there are people dying today from infections that can't be treated," said David Heymann, chairman of Britain's Health Protection Agency. He was not linked to the research.
Last fall, British scientists analyzed more than 200 water samples from central New Delhi, including public tap water and water that collected in the streets. They found the superbug gene in two of the drinking water samples and 51 of the street samples. Researchers found the superbug in 11 different types of bacteria, including those that cause dysentery and cholera.
As a comparison, the scientists also took 70 water samples from a water treatment center in Cardiff, Britain. No superbug genes were found in any of those. The research was paid for by the European Union and was published online Thursday in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42463266/ns/health-infectious_diseases
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NDM-1 superbugs found in seepage, tap water
NDM-1 gene found in 51 seepage and two tap water samples in New Delhi
Gram-negative bacterial strains with NDM-1 (New Delhi Metallo-beta-lactamase-1) gene, also called the superbug, have now been detected in drinking water and seepage water samples collected from several sites in New Delhi. Seepage samples were collected from water pools found in streets or rivulets.
The findings have been published online today (April 7) in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal.
The NDM-1 gene enables Gram-negative bacterial strains to become resistant to carbapenem, a powerful antibiotic. Bacteria that carry the antibiotic resistant gene were found in two drinking-water samples and 51 seepage water samples.
The two drinking-water samples were collected from west of the Yamuna River in the district of Ramesh Nagar and from south of the Red Fort, respectively. The seepage samples that tested positive for the NDM-1 gene were collected close to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Gol Market and other sites.
No panic situation
Since none of the tap water samples had stable plasmids, “the situation has not yet [become] utterly miserable,” writes Mohd Shahid in an accompanying Comment piece in the journal. Dr. Shahid is from the Department of Medical Microbiology, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, Aligarh Muslim University, U.P.
http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/article1607807.ece
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New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase (NDM-1)[1] is an enzyme that makes bacteria resistant to a broad range of beta-lactam antibiotics. These include the antibiotics of the carbapenem family, which are a mainstay for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. The gene for NDM-1 is one member of a large gene family that encodes beta-lactamase enzymes called carbapenemases. Bacteria that produce carbapenemases are often referred to in the news media as "superbugs" because infections caused by them are difficult to treat. Such bacteria are usually susceptible only to polymyxins and tigecycline.[2]
NDM-1 was first detected in a Klebsiella pneumoniae isolate from a Swedish patient of Indian origin in 2008.[3] It was later detected in bacteria in India, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, the United States,[4] Canada,[5] Japan[6] and Brazil.[7] The most common bacteria that make this enzyme are Gram-negative such as Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, but the gene for NDM-1 can spread from one strain of bacteria to another by horizontal gene transfer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Delhi_metallo-beta-lactamase
http://www.medicinenet.com/ndm-1/article.htm
SNIP
LONDON — A deadly superbug was found in about a quarter of water samples taken from drinking supplies and puddles on the streets of New Delhi, according to a new study.
..Experts say it's the latest proof that the new drug-resistant bacteria, known as NDM-1, named for New Delhi, is widely circulating in the environment — and could potentially spread to the rest of the world.
The superbug can only be treated with a couple of highly toxic and expensive antibiotics. Since it was first identified in 2008, it has popped up in a number of countries, including the United States, Australia, Britain, Canada and Sweden.
Most of those infections were in people who had recently traveled to or had medical procedures in India, Pakistan or Bangladesh.
"This is not a problem that is looming in the future ... there are people dying today from infections that can't be treated," said David Heymann, chairman of Britain's Health Protection Agency. He was not linked to the research.
Last fall, British scientists analyzed more than 200 water samples from central New Delhi, including public tap water and water that collected in the streets. They found the superbug gene in two of the drinking water samples and 51 of the street samples. Researchers found the superbug in 11 different types of bacteria, including those that cause dysentery and cholera.
As a comparison, the scientists also took 70 water samples from a water treatment center in Cardiff, Britain. No superbug genes were found in any of those. The research was paid for by the European Union and was published online Thursday in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42463266/ns/health-infectious_diseases
_________________________________________________
NDM-1 superbugs found in seepage, tap water
NDM-1 gene found in 51 seepage and two tap water samples in New Delhi
Gram-negative bacterial strains with NDM-1 (New Delhi Metallo-beta-lactamase-1) gene, also called the superbug, have now been detected in drinking water and seepage water samples collected from several sites in New Delhi. Seepage samples were collected from water pools found in streets or rivulets.
The findings have been published online today (April 7) in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal.
The NDM-1 gene enables Gram-negative bacterial strains to become resistant to carbapenem, a powerful antibiotic. Bacteria that carry the antibiotic resistant gene were found in two drinking-water samples and 51 seepage water samples.
The two drinking-water samples were collected from west of the Yamuna River in the district of Ramesh Nagar and from south of the Red Fort, respectively. The seepage samples that tested positive for the NDM-1 gene were collected close to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Gol Market and other sites.
No panic situation
Since none of the tap water samples had stable plasmids, “the situation has not yet [become] utterly miserable,” writes Mohd Shahid in an accompanying Comment piece in the journal. Dr. Shahid is from the Department of Medical Microbiology, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, Aligarh Muslim University, U.P.
http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/article1607807.ece
_________________________________________________
New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase (NDM-1)[1] is an enzyme that makes bacteria resistant to a broad range of beta-lactam antibiotics. These include the antibiotics of the carbapenem family, which are a mainstay for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. The gene for NDM-1 is one member of a large gene family that encodes beta-lactamase enzymes called carbapenemases. Bacteria that produce carbapenemases are often referred to in the news media as "superbugs" because infections caused by them are difficult to treat. Such bacteria are usually susceptible only to polymyxins and tigecycline.[2]
NDM-1 was first detected in a Klebsiella pneumoniae isolate from a Swedish patient of Indian origin in 2008.[3] It was later detected in bacteria in India, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, the United States,[4] Canada,[5] Japan[6] and Brazil.[7] The most common bacteria that make this enzyme are Gram-negative such as Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, but the gene for NDM-1 can spread from one strain of bacteria to another by horizontal gene transfer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Delhi_metallo-beta-lactamase
http://www.medicinenet.com/ndm-1/article.htm
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.- T.S. Eliot
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.- T.S. Eliot
