IFN-1 is the name of a fearsome weapon enzyme discovery ... by bacteria. It makes it resistant to most antibiotics known family Enterobacteriaceae responsible for pulmonary infections and urinary tract diseases common. This bacterial innovation was unearthed in India, Pakistan and the United Kingdom. An extensive monitoring is needed, researchers say. And woe medical tourism ...
The growing resistance of bacteria to antibiotics is a known problem and research are well underway to create new classes of these molecules. But there is progress perhaps slower than the speed of adaptation of these microorganisms. A group of Australian researchers, British, Indian and Swedish just published a rather disturbing article, which speaks of a potential problem and a major global health.
This team has discovered numerous cases of bacteria resistant to common antibiotics, beta-lactam antibiotics, which include penicillin and carbapenem. These bacteria have been identified for the first time in 2008 in a Swedish patient had recently been operated on in an Indian hospital. The resistance of this bacterium is due to an enzyme, called IFN-1, New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase 1.
Medical Tourism in question
In an article published in The Lancet, the authors of the study describe 180 cases of persons carrying such bacteria resistant to India, Pakistan and the United Kingdom. Micro-organisms found were all Enterobacteriaceae, a large family which includes the inhabitants of our intestinal flora. Most belong to two species, Klebsiella pneumoniae (111 cases) and Escherichia coli (36).All of these bacteria carried the gene blaNDM-1, responsible for manufacturing the enzyme.
The Asian origin of these resistant strains can be little doubt that many British patients involved had little time before surgery in India or Pakistan. Moreover, these cases were identified at the hospital but also, and more worrisome, in people living in the city.
These bacteria IFN-1 are far from harmless. They are indeed the cause of lung infections and, more importantly, urinary disorders common among women and that sometimes occur in the hospital. In general, these bacteria cause infections and are more dangerous in people with fragile health.
The term «global health problem» is pronounced by the doctors who commented on the discovery but also to say ... that is not there yet. It seems he medical tourism here is a source of spread. Rapidly growing phenomenon, practiced by many countries, it attracts a diverse clientele for conventional surgery or aesthetic. The rates and the know-how of Indian medical teams seem particularly attractive. The study authors advise to monitor closely the emergence of these bacteria IFN-1 around the world.
A famous enterobacteria: Escherichia coli, seen here in a scanning electron microscope. Credits DR
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