Title with link :Drug-Resistant 'Superbug' Found in New Delhi Water
Author: Jaymi Heimbuch
Date: 4-7-11
Summary: An antibiotic resistant organism was found in New Delhi’s water. This organism, metallo-beta-lactamase 1 (NDM-1, is a superbug. Many tests of India's water supply have been done to prove NDM1 is there. Nearly one third of the samples of surface water came up positive, and four percent came up positive in tap water. These numbers dont seem big now, but they most likely aren't getting lower. Due to the warmer months, and monsoons in India, the chance of this superbug spreading is exceptionally high. The bug is mostly transferred to India and Britain tourists getting medical surgery.
Opinion: I think this is bad. About 8 months ago, I read about this superbug. The only information on it was that it was resistant to nearly all antibiotics and it originated from plastic surgery through India and Europe. I thought nothing of it because nobody was talking about it and the few people I talked to were very confused and almost mockingly acting when I told them. Now that I see it is making bigger headlines, and a bigger commotion, it may be the new H1N1 virus, (Which I also had heard about before the big talk happened.) This ties into class really well because we were discussing how things become drug resistant. I hope we can get this superbug from spreading too far around the world.
Graphic: Right on the website if you click on the title, there is a picture of somebody getting water in India, even though it might be not clean.
Questions:
1) Have you heard of NDM1?
2) Do you think we can find a different antibiotic for NDM1?
3) Do you think this will affect exports from India like rice?
4) What protective measures would you take?
5) Do you think this is dangerous?
Response:
ReplyDeleteI agree with Charles that this is possibly a very dangerous situation. This article was very interesting to read about. I think that it is cool that there is a bug that is resistant to nearly all antibiotics, but I also realize that this could be very dangerous. This shows that the water in this area probably has antibiotics in it which led to the ability for this bug to become resistant to these antibiotics. I would like to travel to different parts of the world in my lifetime, but I am now starting to become worried that a bug like this might affect me. I hope that I will be able to travel, and that we can find a way to stop bugs like this from forming.
Answers to Questions:
1)I have not heard of NDM1 until now. I think that it is a very serious thing now that I have heard of it.
2)I do think that over time we will be able to find a different antibiotic for NDM1 with today's technology.
3)I do not think that this will affect exports from India because I think that we will find a way to protect the exports.
Expansion:http://www.17sleeve.com/ndm-1-super-bug-gene-found-in-waters-of-new-delhi
This article goes further into detail about this topic.
Opinion:
ReplyDeleteOh no! Considering what happened a few years ago with the "swine flu" (H1N1) break out, this is not good. If this happens again, the entire country is going to freak out like they did last time. But at the same time, I'd have to disagree with you, Charles. I don't think it's actually that big of a deal. This superbug doesn't seem to be hurting anything, and I don't see that big of a problem. It is growing, but how fast? We don't know, and I honestly doubt it is. The only problem it seems to be causing is the H1N1, and that is very unlikely.
Questions I ask:
1. How fast will the amount of NDM1 grow?
2. How bad can it hurt people, if it can hurt people at all?
Answers to Questions:
1. I have not.
2. Yes. I think that today's research is so advanced, that there will probably be some kind of antibiotic.
3. Possibly. It could make the rice resistant.
Graphic:
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kgDKr5CUr9U/TPU4pZ68ZrI/AAAAAAAAAQ0/-zrLcrM93Fk/s640/ndm1-superbug.png&imgrefurl=http://pakistancyberforce.blogspot.com/2010_11_01_archive.html&usg=__oAMAuPtLyE5gcOvwaTUKyxJDdOo=&h=590&w=560&sz=25&hl=en&start=0&sig2=bbO_Qe0vwhGAcu2_MGczOg&zoom=1&tbnid=4LbxzRHD-gv7sM:&tbnh=160&tbnw=152&ei=i52jTZOgLcbcgQfn27DGCA&prev=/images%3Fq%3DNDM%2B1%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26biw%3D1045%26bih%3D484%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=306&vpy=147&dur=56&hovh=230&hovw=219&tx=120&ty=216&oei=i52jTZOgLcbcgQfn27DGCA&page=1&ndsp=9&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:0
Here is a picture that I found of the actual NDM 1 bug.
Response: This NDM1 sounds very serious because of its resistance to antibiotics. Antibiotics is what we use to treat people who become infected and need medical help in order to recover from an illness. If the NDM1 is not wiped out with antibiotics, then I have a concern with what will. Although the H1N1 was a scare until a drug could be produced enough to control the outbreak, the medical companies did produce an antibiotic to treat H1N1. Since the antibiotic is not an option to treat NMD1, it may be a real serious threat to the entire world.
ReplyDeleteI rarely get sick, so I do not have a great concern about me being exposed to the NMD1. However, some of my family members tend to get sick each winter with whatever the main bug is that is going around. Two winter's ago, my younger sister had the H1N1. I was scared because she got phnemonia in her lungs, which is very serious. She took strong antibiotics which helped her recover from the illness. But I have a concern what the medical community can do to treat NMD1 if antibiotics aren't an option.
Answers to Questions:
1. I have not heard of the NMD1 bug, but I think this informatio is important to share with the world. If people are aware of the bug and its seriousness, then travelers hopefully will be cautious when traveling to India.
2. I think that we can find some drug to fight the NMD1, but it may take time. Our medical technology is very advanced and I hear about progress in medicine all the time.
3. I think that this bug may affect some exports from India because the U.S. and probably other countries will not want to deal with an epidemic like the NMD1 without knowing what could be used to cure the bug. Rice seems like a likely product not to be exported because of its exposure to water during growth. There are many other countries that export rice,such as China, so I would think that preventing India to export would not be a problem until this bug gets under control.
Questions:
1) Even if you do not like to travel outside the United States, do you have a concern about the NMD1 bug?
2) Do you think that the US and other countries should be working together with India to find a drug that helps fight the NMD1?
3) What do you think our government should do to make sure travelers are not bringing the NMD1 into the US?
I think this is a very troubling article. This superbug, NDm1 could make antibiotics ineffective against diseases such as cholera and dysentery. If somebody does not do something quickly, we will see the death rate skyrocket in India. In order for people to do something, they need to be aware of the situation. By educating the people about what is in the water they are drinking, hopefully that will raise awareness. If this superbug lives in the waters and people are drinking it, it is unhealthy for them. The way that this affects me is that I drink at least 5 glasses of water a day. If I were to live in India, or the superbug be found in the Horsham water stream I would not be able to drink clean drinking water from the tap and I would most likely perish as well as many others. All in all, something needs to be done quickly and efficiently for this superbug to be eradicated.
ReplyDeleteExpansion: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1302035/Unbeatable-NDM-1-enzyme-make-bacterial-diseases-superbugs.html Article that what the superbug is, the effects of it, and where it was found and why.
Questions Answers
(Answer to #1):No, I have not heard of NDM1,but this article tells me it is a very dangerous bacteria.
(Answer to#5) Yes, I think this is very dangerous and the people in and around India are at risk of not being able to give antibiotics that work for certain diseases.
3 Questions
1. What is the main cause of the NDM1’s presence in the water stream?
2. What can happen if the superbug makes these antibiotics ineffective against diseases?
3. Who is doing something to stop this or help prevent this, if anybody at all?