Indian scientist: Superbug presence in Indian capital confirmed

A senior Indian scientist and expert on bacteriology said Tuesday that the presence of superbug, formally called NDM-1, and its ill-effects in the Indian capital have been confirmed. The Indo-Asian News Service quoted former Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) chief N.K. Ganguly as saying at the first forum on bacterial infections in the capital that "considering the hospital waste that goes into Delhi's sewage water, many studies have confirmed that the multi-drug resistant superbug is present in Delhi's environment". "It is the most deadliest bug roaming around," said Ganguly, chairman of the Immunology Foundation of India. The scientist also appealed to the government not to under- estimate the threat from the bacteria. Reports from a British Medical journal The Lancet had earlier alleged the presence of a bacteria with multi-drug resistant gene - - New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-1 (NDM-1) -- that was resistant to almost all antibiotics. The journal later reported in a study that the NDM-1 was found in Delhi's sewage and drinking water. Scientists feared the spread of the enzyme worldwide due to its high antibiotic resistance, to fight which nothing has been developed so far. But the Indian Health Ministry has not admitted the impact from the NDM-1 on public health, but it has been mulling over an antibiotic policy that will also address the issue of hospital- acquired infections in the country, said the report. Officials from the health ministry had said the naming of the enzyme after "New Delhi" was an attempt to malign India as the superbug was found in many countries, not just India.