SUPERBUG THEORY
1. Although there have only been about 50 cases identified in the UK so far, scientists fear it will go global. NDM-1 can exist inside different bacteria, like Ecoli, and it makes them resistant to one of the most powerful groups of antibiotics-carbapenems
2. According to a paper published in scientific journal 'Lancet', the new superbug, which is said to be resistant even to most powerful antibiotics, has entered UK hospitals and is travelling with patients who had gone to countries like India and Pakistan for surgical treatments. Bacteria that make an enzyme called NDM-1 or New Delhi-Metallo-1, have travelled back with NHS patients who went abroad to countries like India and Pakistan for treatments such as cosmetic surgery, it said.
3. The issue also figured in the Rajya Sabha where members suspected the hands of multinational pharmaceutical and hospital companies behind the claims. "When India is emerging as a medical tourism destination, this type of news is unfortunate and may be a sinister design of multinational companies" to defame the Indian medical sector, S S Ahluwalia (BJP) said. Demanding a response from the government, he said some foreign tourists after returning from India reported some infection and attributed it to Indian hospitals. "It may not be true," he said. Claiming that there was a conflict of interest in the publication of the report, the Government said that the study was funded by the European Union and two pharma companies - Wellcome Trust and Wyeth - who produce the antibiotics for treatment of such cases
4. Sources say Karthikeyan K Kumaraswamy, the scientist who was heading the study, received a travel grant from Wyeth. David M Livermore, another scientist on the team, received conference support from numerous pharma companies and also holds shares in AstraZeneca, Merck, Pfizer, Dechra and GlaxoSmithKline and as Enduring Attorney, manages more holdings in GlaxoSmithKline and Eco Animal
5. You have read that Karthikeyan Kumaraswamy, one of the co-authors of the report has denied, has disassociated [himself] from this report,” he said.
6. Indicating a conspiracy, he said “...obviously, we have to find out if there are some kind of ulterior motives or not of some pharmaceutical industries as well. I personally feel that sometimes, some things are commercially motivated. So we ought to get into the detail and depth of it. As a country we cannot take anything lying down.” — PTI
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