"New superbug" 3 years old, but not so horrible

[Gert van der Hoek]

"New superbug" 3 years old, but not so horrible

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"Although some bacteria are very resistant, they are not necessarily very pathogenic," Toleman explained.

He said we all carry E. coli in our intestines and 40 percent of people carry Klebsiella in their intestines without suffering any diseases or problems. So being infected with one of the NDM-1 bacteria is unlikely to cause any problem for a normal healthy individual, he added.

However, the problem is that if the same person were to get a urinary tract infection or blood stream infection, the person would be in a very difficult situation. Similarly, immunocompromised individuals such as people undergoing chemotherapy, transplant patients, the very young and the very old, are also high-risk groups.

So the NDM-1 bacteria are not as horrible as feared by many people in the first few days after the news coverage.

Actually, the British National Health Service (NHS) said on its website just after the media frenzy on Aug. 11 that "the public should not be alarmed by this news," and "regular hand-washing will also help to prevent infections in the first place."

Toleman said "hand-washing is very good advice as these bacteria are spread through the oral-faecal route."

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[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: "New superbug" 3 years old, but not so horrible

Specialist warns against NDM-1 panic

17 August 2010

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An NDM-1 case was treated earlier this year at North West London Hospitals Trust?s specialist intestinal and colorectal unit.

In spite of media headlines warning of a future where antibiotics will be useless, the trust?s director of infection control Fiona Coogan was at pains to stress the success of effective infection control work between nurses, doctors and microbiologists.

She said: ?The patient was treated for a couple of weeks at St Mark?s Hospital and she is now at home alive and well. I don?t want to scaremonger or alarm people; I want to stress that this was a success story for her and for staff and other patients.?

?We are dealing with multiresistant organisms all the time such as multiresistant TB and multiresistant Acinetobacter. It?s all about stringent infection control measures which we have used to great success in combating MRSA and C difficile.?

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