2. Superbug are the microorganism which are able
to survive in exposure to an antibiotics, they
are Multiple Drug Resistance (MDR)
microorganisms.
Genes that confer resistance can be transferred
between bacteria in a Horizontal fashion by
conjugation, transduction, or
transformation.
3. NDM-1 gene was first detected in a Klebsiella
pneumoniae isolate from a Swedish patient of
Indian origin in 2008.
It was later detected in India, Pakistan, United
Kingdom,United States, Canada, Japan and
Brazil.
4. The NDM-1(New Delhi metallo-ß-lactamase-1)
gene was discovered by Young team of scientists
and was named after New Delhi , the Indian
capital.
The gene is widespread in India and Pakistan,
especially in hospitals.
Europeans who have undergone
hospitalization in the Indian subcontinent
have brought NDM-1 back to Europe.
5. Medical tourism as a cause of NDM-1 spread
among countries.
Medical tourism refers to patients who travel to a
country to get medical care that is not available
or is more expensive in their own country.
6. A significant number of Europeans who brought
the gene back to Europe had undergone
cosmetic surgery in India/Pakistan because it
is cheaper there.
7. STRUCTURE OF CARBAPENEM
If a bacteria strain carries the NDM-1 gene it
is resistant to nearly all antibiotics, including
carbapenem antibiotics - also known as
antibiotics of last resort.
8. Carbepenems are the most powerful antibiotics,
used as a last resort for many bacterial
infections, such as E. coli and Klebsiella.
The NDM-1 gene makes the bacterium produce
an enzyme
(Carbapenemase or Beta lactamase) which
neutralizes the activity of carbepenem
antibiotics.
9. The enzyme is active against other compounds
that contain a chemical structure known as a
beta-lactam ring.
10. Beta lactamase produced by the bacteria which
carry blaNDM-1(Gene) is able to hydrolyze
the four carbons beta lactam ring and further
destroy its antibiotic activity.
Unfortunately, many antibiotics contain this ring,
including the penicillins, cephalosporins, and
the carbapenems.
11. A bacterium carrying the NDM-1 gene is the
most powerful Superbug (Bacteria resistant to
usually two or more antibiotics).
12. Carbepenem antibiotics are extremely powerful
and used to fight highly resistant bacteria
(when other antibiotics have not worked).
There are no current antibiotics to combat
NDM-1, Even there is no research in the
pipeline on drugs to combat NDM-1.
13. The DNA code(NDM-1) can easily jump from
one bacteria strain to another through
Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT).
14. A bacterium with the NDM-1 DNA code has
the potential to be resistant to all our current
antibiotics, as well as new antibiotics which
may come into the market in the near future.
15. If NDM-1 jumps to an already
Antibiotic resistant bacterium, there is a risk of
seriously dangerous infections which would
spread rapidly from human-to-human. These
infections might be untreatable.
