100 million Indians carry two deadly bacteria

Even as Mumbai grapples with the suspense of a drug-resistant TB, here is another bit of scary news for India.

Over 100 to 200 million Indians are reportedly carriers of two deadly bacteria —  ha-MRSA and ca-MRSA — which are now resistant to almost all available antibiotics in the world, triggering fear of a pandemic. This news was published recently in the form of an article in the German news magazine Der Spiegel.

The article, written by Philip Bethge, Veronika Hackenbroch, Laura Hoflinger, Michael Leockx and Udo Ludwig, said poor hygiene and easy availability of over-the-counter antibiotics has led to drug resistance in India amongst millions of people. The report claimed that the both the deadly bacteria have reached England; presumably through medical tourists who traveled to India for cosmetic surgery, who have reportedly infected several hundred people.

Reacting to the report, the Director General  of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Department of Health Research, union ministry of health and family welfare, said that the government will not accept any “loose comments” with regard to Indians being carriers of the drug resistant bacteria.

“It is wrong to blame any country. We will not accept any loose comment. We will first study the medical and biological findings and cross check the authenticity then come with appropriate reaction,” said Katoch.

The report said that the two bacteria are spreading fast around the world and cases were reported in Germany, United States, Israel and New Mexico where people are testing positive for the bacterium dubbed as a ‘Superbug’. However, no deaths have been attributed to it so far. British medical journal The Lancet has warned that the drug-resistant bacteria could spark a pandemic.

This report comes close to the discovery of drug resistant NDM-1 bacteria in India, that was reported in Lancet two years back. India had strongly contested this report and opposed the naming of the bacteria after New Delhi. This report is expected to trigger a similar controversy as well as strong protest in India.

This bacterium is known as community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or ca-MRSA, believed to be resistant to almost all common antibiotics, affecting mainly healthy young people. The other drug-resistant hospital-acquired MRSA (ha-MRSA) strain primarily affects the elderly, as well as people in hospitals and nursing homes.

However, there is still hope as one antibiotic is still effective against these killer bacteria, though it is normally not used anymore due to its potentially fatal side effects.

These pathogens thrive in warm, moist environments such as armpits, genital area and in the nasal mucous membranes. They are also found in the locker rooms of schools and universities, communal showers of prisons and health clubs. The bacteria are transmitted via the skin, through towels, clothing or direct body contact. All it takes is a small abrasion to provide them with access to a victim’s bloodstream, the report said. The killer bugs often originate in factory farms.

These multidrug-resistant bacteria were also found in more than half of the chicken parts purchased in supermarkets in East Germany. They have even been detected on one of Germany’s high-speed ICE trains. About 3-5% of the German population carries so-called ESBL-forming bacteria in the intestine without knowing it, the magazine report said.

The report also said that Israel had experienced a nationwide outbreak a few years ago. Within a few months, about 1,300 people were subject to an extremely dangerous bacterium that killed 40% of infected patients. Even today, the same bacterium sickens some 300 people a year.