Emerging Antibiotic Resistance in Enterobacteria Prompts Global Concern
Patients may ask about a widely reported study describing emerging bacterial resistance to certain antibiotics. The study, published in Lancet Infectious Diseases, shows that a gene in E. coli and K. pneumoniae confers resistance to carbapenem antibiotics, especially in patients from India and Pakistan. Researchers describe 180 isolates from patients in India, Pakistan, the U.K., and other countries. The isolates produce an enzyme, New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase 1 (NDM-1) whose gene can be carried both on bacterial chromosomes and plasmids. NDM-1 was identified in up to 44% of carbapenem-resistant isolates in U.K. patients, some of whom had undergone elective surgical procedures in India or Pakistan. Although few people have been identified with NDM-1, the authors call the potential for wider spread "clear and frightening." A commentator warns that "patients who have had medical procedures in India should be actively screened for multiresistant bacteria before they receive medical care in their home country." One Point for the Bugs. Zero for the Humans
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