Since August of this year, the medical world has been buzzing with reports about a superbug NDM-1 believed to have originated in India.
This is pretty alarming on several fronts.
1. NDM-1 has shown resistance to every antibiotic known to man
2. India is a popular destination for medical tourism
3. Cases have already begun to crop up around the globe including Japan, Europe and Canada.
Scientists have long been apprehensive about common bacteria combining with other bacteria which have developed resistance to antibiotics. These so-called superbugs are the stuff apocalyptic scenarios are made of, and for good reason. They can actually happen.
The hope for mankind lies in the creation of new antibiotics which the present and coming superbugs have not encountered yet. Another avenue that could be explored is to synthesize a bacteria that will hunt down and kill the superbugs. While such a scenario seems promising, this is truly a case where the cure might become worse than the disease. After all, we would be breaking new ground and there is no way to tell if the synthesized bacteria will have adverse effects that extend way beyond just killing the NDM-1 organisms.
The bacteria involved at this time are in the intestinal tract.
If you wish to read more about the superbug, here are some links:
An Authoritative Article from The Lancet
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099%2810%2970143-2/abstract
Article on Medical News Today:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/197616.php
Article on NDTV (New Delhi)
http://doctor.ndtv.com/storypage/ndtv/id/004672/type/feature/Superbug-is_it_really_from_India.html
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