A Belgian man became the first known fatality of a drug-resistant “superbug” originating in South Asia, reinforcing fears the germ could spread worldwide after infecting dozens of people in Britain and Australia.
The unnamed patient became infected while hospitalized in Pakistan and died in June, a doctor from the Brussels hospital where he had been treated told Belgian media on Friday.
“He was involved in a car accident during a trip to Pakistan. He was hospitalized with a major leg injury and then repatriated to Belgium, but he was already infected,” the doctor said.
Despite being administered colistin, a powerful antibiotic, the patient died, the doctor said.
A second Belgian picked up the bug after being hospitalized following an accident during a trip to his native Montenegro, but recovered with treatment back in Belgium last month, another expert said on Friday.
“The epicenter of the presence of this bacteria seems to be India and Pakistan, but it appears through contact and travel, its spread is becoming wider,” said Youri Glupczynski, a bacteriologist from the University of Leuven.
The superbug comprises a bacterium containing an enzyme gene called New Delhi metallo-lactamase-1 (NDM-1) that makes it impervious to treatment by almost all antibiotics.
These include drugs known as carbapenems, which are often used as a last resort.
A British journal, The Lancet Infectious Diseases, reported this week that bacteria containing the NDM-1 gene had been found in 37 Britons who had received medical treatment in South Asia.
It said health tourists visiting South Asia risked infection and warned the superbug could spread.
Three cases have been identified in Australia among people who had traveled to India for surgery, said Peter Collignon, the head of Canberra Hospital’s infectious diseases department.
Patrice Nordmann, who heads a unit specializing in antibiotic resistance at France’s National Institute of Health and Medical Research, said that the number of real cases was bound to be “certainly higher” than the notified tally.
“There is a large potential reservoir,” given the huge population of southern Asia, he said.
The NDM-1 gene is a special worry because it is found in plasmids — DNA structures that can easily be copied and then transferred promiscuously among different types of bacteria.
These include **Escherichia coli**, the commonest cause of urinary tract infections, and **Klebsiella pneumoniae**, which causes lung and wound infections and is generated mainly in hospitals.
The European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases said no new antibiotics to treat NDM-1 infections were likely to be available for at least 10 years.
National health watchdogs had to step up monitoring efforts and pool data to track where the infections were occurring and respond to the threat, it said.
The **Lancet** study sparked a furious response from India.
“To link this with the safety of surgery in hospitals in India and citing isolated examples to show that ... India is not a safe place to visit, is wrong,” the Indian health ministry said in a statement Friday.
But it also emerged that a team of Indian researchers had warned of the superbug in March.
Researchers from the private Hinduja hospital in Mumbai studied 24 infection cases between August and November last year and said they found 22 incidents of NDM-1 bacteria.
ANNOUNCEMENT: People who do not comply with the ban after a spoken warning would be reported to the police, the airport company said on Friday Taoyuan International Airport Corp on Friday announced that riding on vehicles, including scooter-suitcases (also known as “scootcases”), bicycles, scooters and skateboards, is prohibited in the airport’s terminals. Those using such vehicles should manually pull them or place them on luggage trolleys, the company said in a Facebook post. The ban intends to maintain order and protect travelers’ safety, as the airport often sees large crowds of people, it said, adding that it has stepped up publicity for the regulation, and those who do not comply after a spoken warning would be reported to the police. The company yesterday said that
QUIET START: Nearly a week after applications opened, agencies did not announce or promote the program, nor did they explain how it differed from other visitor visas Taiwan has launched a six-month “digital nomad visitor visa” program for foreign nationals from its list of visa-exempt countries who meet financial eligibility criteria and provide proof of work contracts. To apply, foreign nationals must either provide proof that they have obtained a digital nomad visa issued by another country or demonstrate earnings based on age brackets, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said. Applicants aged 20 to 29 must show they earned an annual salary of at least US$20,000 or its equivalent in one of the past two years, while those aged 30 or older must provide proof they earned US$40,000 in
NEW YEAR’S ADDRESS: ‘No matter what threats and challenges Taiwan faces, democracy is the only path,’ William Lai said, urging progress ‘without looking back’ President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday urged parties across the political divide to democratically resolve conflicts that have plagued domestic politics within Taiwan’s constitutional system. In his first New Year’s Day address since becoming president on May 20 last year, Lai touched on several issues, including economic and security challenges, but a key emphasis was on the partisan wrangling that has characterized his first seven months in office. Taiwan has transformed from authoritarianism into today’s democracy and that democracy is the future, Lai said. “No matter what threats and challenges Taiwan faces, democracy is the only path for Taiwan,” he said. “The only choice
UNITY MESSAGE: Rather than focusing on what Trump said on the campaign trail about Taiwan, Taipei should be willing to engage with the US, Pompeo said Taiwan plays a key role in Washington’s model of deterrence against China, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said in a speech in Taipei yesterday. During US president-elect Donald Trump’s first term, “we had developed what we believe was a pretty effective model of deterrence against adversaries who wanted to undermine the set of rules and values that the people of Taiwan and the people of the US hold dear,” Pompeo said at a forum organized by the Formosa Republican Association. “Succeeding in continuing to build this model will not solely rest at the feet of president Trump and his team,
RSS