Meet the NDM-1 Superbug Virus, aka as "the end of the world"
It was nice knowing you all….
According to AFP, researchers first discovered the NDM-1 gene in 2009 in a Swedish patient who was hospitalized in India6 . Scientists are said to be especially concerned because NDM-1 bacteria are resistant to even the strongest, broad-spectrum antibiotics reserved to treat "multi-drug resistant bugs." In a article from the journal The Lancet, researchers in Britain noted that NDM-1 "can easily be transferred into common bacteria such as E. Coli." Once the NDM-1 transfer onto the bacteria, they can "easily spread and diversify." The Lancet piece notes that researchers have found patients in several countries, including the U.S., Netherlands, Australia and Canada, who were found to have "bacteria susceptible to the NDM-1 superbug gene." Scientists have said that NDM-1 "was impervious to all antibiotics except two."
In The Lancet, scientists conclude that "The potential of NDM-1 to be a worldwide public health problem is great, and co-ordinated international surveillance is needed." However, regarding the severity of the bug, as Dr. Martin J. Blaser of New York University says in his interview with the New York Times, "it's too early to judge."7
