Sir Ganga Ram's surveillance for NDM-1 is a sign of a strong research facility
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New data presented at the 1st Global Forum on Bacterial Infections in New Delhi this week showed that bacteria carrying the NDM-1 gene have been isolated in Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi as well as in Kolkata. NDM-1, or New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-1, is a gene that confers a high level of resistance to antibiotics, and there are few to no treatments available for infections caused by bacteria that contain the NDM-1 gene. These findings have set off a wave of concern about NDM-1 in the specific hospital locations where the study took place. However, it is very likely that NDM-1 is widespread in most other secondary and tertiary hospitals as well. The only difference is that Sir Ganga Ram Hospital has a strong department of microbiology and a research culture that has allowed surveillance for NDM-1 in their facility. Their commitment to this study should....
Limiting the spread of antibiotic resistance in India
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Earlier this month, a meeting of health ministers representing the member states of the World Health Organization's South-East Asia Region recognized antimicrobial resistance as a major global health issue. The Jaipur Declaration issued on 6 September 2011 is an important step forward in coordinating a global response to the problem of antibiotic resistance, or the ability of bacteria to withstand antibiotic treatments. Importantly, it sets the tone and serves a model for other countries to follow. We already have evidence of the effects of antibiotic resistance in India. A 2009 World Health Organization study found that 58.7 percent of pathogenic E.coli samples in Delhi were resistant to the common antibiotic ciprofloxacin1. In intensive care units in India, the rate of vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE), a hospital acquired infection, is five times the world average. Why does it matter? When treatment with first-line antibiotics fails, patients have to turn to....
More about Dr Ramanan Laxminarayan
Dr Ramanan Laxminarayan is an economist and epidemiologist. He is Vice President of Research & Policy, Public Health Foundation of India, and Director, Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy.Recent Posts
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