The world could possibly be battling a new superbug virus, on behalf of Brits venturing to India for nip-and-tuck discounts who have brought home a deadly stowaway. A new superbug infection could spread worldwide after infecting plastic surgery individuals in south Asia who brought it home to Britain. The most powerful antibiotics accessible won’t stem infections born from a bacteria-jumping gene within the new superbug. While Big Pharma chases lucrative conditions like erectile dysfunction, experts say governments have to do something to encourage more investment in antibiotic research.
Drug-resistant superbug gene makes bacteria deadly
After travelling from Britain to India via medical tourism, a new superbug infection is threatening to spread all over the world. You will find few drugs strong enough to treat it, researchers said. Reuters reports that a newly found gene– New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase, or NDM-1-has been found by researchers in individuals in both south Asia and the U.K. Bacteria are altered by the NDM-1 gene to become highly resistant to most antibiotics, including carbapenems-the most powerful class available. Drug experts say the research pipeline has no new antibiotics in progress to suppress it. Reuters said that Timothy Walsh, who led the study, fears that with international travel for cheap cosmetic surgery procedures increasing, the new superbug could soon spread to hospitals worldwide.
Superbug seeks to spread and diversify
In an article published online Wednesday within the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases, the researchers said the superbug gene was already circulating widely in India, where the health care system is much less likely to detect it or have adequate antibiotics to fight it. The Associated Press reports that after going to India or Pakistan for plastic surgery, 37 individuals in Britain with drug-resistant infections were diagnosed with the superbug gene. The superbug gene has also been detected by medical researchers in Australia, Canada, the United States of America, the Netherlands and Sweden . The superbug has “an alarming potential to spread and diversify,” because the gene is found on DNA structures called plasmids that are copied and easily between bacteria , the authors of the Lancet article said.
Big Pharma chasing cash, not superbugs
Superbugs don’t peak the pharmaceutical industry’s interest. New antibiotics aren’t marketable long enough to make sufficient profits because bacteria evolve so quickly . The Wall Street Journal reports that some pharmaceutical businesses are looking for government subsidies to ensure they get an adequate return on investment to shareholders for addressing a world-wide health threat. Pharmaceutical companies also blame strict research and development demands from official regulators that cut into potential profits. However, Pfizer and Merck within the Americas, Novartis in Switzerland and GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca in the U.K are engaged in antibiotic research .
Further reading
Reuters
reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67A0YU20100811
Associated Press
google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gpFQ3Bz7hIFhSsHlYpROVwTVwwoAD9HHAI6G0
Wall Street Journal
online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100811-710190.html
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