Friday, October 22, 2010

Singapore: Superbug infects 4 more

Oct 21, 2010 They are likely to have caught the bug locally; more cases may surface
By Salma Khalik

ANOTHER four people in Singapore have been infected by the new superbug, the highly drug-resistant New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase 1 (NDM-1), bringing the total to six.

Of the latest cases, three were elderly patients aged between 74 and 94 but the fourth was in his 30s. As none of them had travelled abroad, it is likely that they had caught the bug locally.

The youngest patient may have acquired the superbug while in hospital as he developed a urinary tract infection after a two-month stay. The NDM-1 bacteria were not present in earlier tests done on the patient.

Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan cautioned that more such cases were likely to emerge, given the ease with which the NDM-1 gene can spread among bacteria.

The gene makes the bacteria resistant to many of the more common antibiotics.

Mr Khaw told The Straits Times that the NDM-1 'is already found in different species and strains of bacteria here'.
cies and strains of bacteria here. We can therefore expect more cases.'

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