Superbug termed NDM-1 is drug resistant and threatens mankind?

There’s a new Superbug that the World Health organization has termed “NDM-1” that appears to be resistant to all known forms of antibiotics. The superbug has been known to cause a variety of diseases, including cholera and dysentery. The fact that NDM-1 cannot currently be treated via conventional antibiotics means that people diagnosed with it might never be properly treated. Because of this, the WHO is doing everything it can to make sure that the Superbug does not spread.

FEAR ACROSS NEW DELHI

Unfortunatelty, it appears that the Superbug is spreading incredibly quickly. NDM-1 has been found in contaminated waters all across New Delhi, in India, which means that millions of people within the city may have already contracted the bug without them even knowing it.

IT’S THE DARK AGES ALL OVER AGAIN

NDM-1 also seems to be spreading and, apparently, evolving at a much faster rate than current human science can keep up with. This means that not only is a cure for this bug still a very long way off from discovery, but also that the Superbug may have already infected a good portion of the globe before it can be finished. It has been noted that the bug has been circulating across hospitals in India, and several other parts of Asia. In Taiwan, a 56-year old man apparently contracted the bug through a kidney transplant in China. Some have even speculated that if nothing is done soon, then the world could return to a state similar to the 1920’s, before Pennicilin was around. Even the slightest infection could a person serious, irreversible harm.

WAS IT OUR OWN DOING?

The WHO has noted that one reason these drug-resistant superbugs are spreading and evolving faster is because of a high misuse of antibiotics in certain countries. In China, for example, superbugs that cause such diseases as tuberculosis have been noted primarily because of patients misusing antibiotics, which eventually cause bacteria to evolve beyond them. Some hospitals in China have been known to recommend overuses of certain drugs in order to turn a higher profit.

WHAT DO WE DO NOW?

There’s nothing we can do now except wait and see. Doctors and medical experts across Asia will definitely have their hands full trying to contain the Superbug and discover a definite way to counteract it before it spreads across the globe and turns into a worldwide calamity. I’ll certainly be keeping a close eye on this situation.

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SOURCES:

• http://news.google.com/news/search?pz=1&cf=all&ned=en_ph&hl=en&q=superbug
• http://topnews.net.nz/content/213600-overuse-antibiotics-leads-urgent-situation-too-many-super-bugs
• http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-04-07/delhi/29391808_1_ndm-1-ndm1-superbug
• http://www.fiercebiotech.com/story/new-suberbug-underscores-anemic-antibiotic-pipeline/2011-04-08
• http://www.thejournal.ie/superbugs-evolving-faster-than-medicine-worried-experts-warn-117397-May2011/
• http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2011/whd_20110406/en/index.html
• http://www.ndm1bacteria.com/