ID :
173940
Thu, 04/07/2011 - 21:42
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/173940
The shortlink copeid
India slams reports of 'superbug' in Delhi water
New Delhi, Apr 7 (PTI) India Thursday came out
strongly against a report on presence of a drug resistant
bacteria in the public water system of the capital saying the
motives behind it were not "scientific" and the government
will respond in an appropriate forum.
"Just to keep the heat on a country or a region...is
not scientifc motive for a study," Secretary Department of
Health Research V M Katoch told reporters here.
"Enough is enough, scientifically we will respond to
it in an appropriate forum," Katoch, who is also the Director
of Indian Council of Medical research said.
International medical journal 'Lancet' reported that
deadly superbug NDM-1 was found in about a quarter of water
samples taken from drinking supplies and puddles on the
streets of New Delhi.
He said that the report was not supported by any
"clinical and epidemiological" evidence and also does not
highlight the "unstable character of the isolates".
Quoting from a study conducted by microbiologists of
the Ganga Ram Hospital, Shashi Khare, Deputy Director National
Centre for Disease Control, said, out of 1,944 pregnant women
surveyed, none had any Carbapenem resistance which should be
present if a person is carrying NDM-1 bacteria in their gut.
The study was carried out over the last two years. The
research shows that E Coli isolated from the gut of a large
randomly selected sample of pregnant women did not show any
carbapenem resistant E Coli in the stool samples indicating no
presence of NDM-1, Khare said.
Katoch further said that the environmental presence of
NDM-I gene carrying bacteria finding since there is no
clinical or epidemiological linkage of this finding in the
study area as given in the publication. The facts that
patients respond well to medical and postsurgical antibiotic
treatment indicates tha NDM-I is not a significant problem
inthe country.
Taking on the report further, Katoch said that the
carbapenem antibiotic is not required to be used in the
treatment of Cholera and Shigella dysentry as stated by the
study as these cases respond to commonly used antibiotics.
"The publication itself mentions that NDM-I gene is
not a stable character in most of the isolates indicating that
any time it can revert back to a sensitive state," he said.
Katoch added that transferring biological material out
of the country for the purposes of any study without taking
permission from the government was not legal. However, he
could not eleborate on what if any steps can be taken against
such action.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Jal Board dispelled concerns
following reports of presence of drug-resistant bacteria in
the capital's tap water and said the water being supplied by
the agency was "safe" for drinking.
"We want to assure that Delhi water is safe for
drinking," DJB CEO Ramesh Negi told reporters and claimed that
the water supplied by the agency conforms to the standards
prescribed by Bureau of Indian Standards.
Both the NDM-1 positive samples were from Ramesh
Nagar, west of the Yamuna River, "but the report itself states
that the strain cannot grow in tap water as it is
chlorinated," Negi said.
When asked about the reports of presence of
drug-resistant bacteria in water, Chief Minister Sheila
Dikshit said she has sought detailed reports about it from DJB
and Health Department.
"It (drug-resistant bacteria) has been found in water
in some areas around the Red Fort. I have sought detailed
reports about it," she said.
Experts say it is the latest proof that the new
drug-resistant bacteria, named after New Delhi, is widely
circulating in the environment and could potentially spread to
the rest of the world.
The superbug can only be treated with a couple of
highly toxic and expensive antibiotics. Since it was first
identified in 2008, it has popped up in a number of countries,
including the United States, Australia, Britain, Canada and
Sweden.
Most of those infections were in people who had
recently travelled to or had medical procedures in India,
Pakistan or Bangladesh.
India had earlier protested against the naming of the
bug after its capital, saying the research was not supported
by scientific data.
Director General of Health Services R K Srivastava
said that that following the publication of the report in
August last year, the government had written to the editor of
the 'Lancet' asking him to publish a letter refuting the
theory, but the magazine had refused to publish it.
strongly against a report on presence of a drug resistant
bacteria in the public water system of the capital saying the
motives behind it were not "scientific" and the government
will respond in an appropriate forum.
"Just to keep the heat on a country or a region...is
not scientifc motive for a study," Secretary Department of
Health Research V M Katoch told reporters here.
"Enough is enough, scientifically we will respond to
it in an appropriate forum," Katoch, who is also the Director
of Indian Council of Medical research said.
International medical journal 'Lancet' reported that
deadly superbug NDM-1 was found in about a quarter of water
samples taken from drinking supplies and puddles on the
streets of New Delhi.
He said that the report was not supported by any
"clinical and epidemiological" evidence and also does not
highlight the "unstable character of the isolates".
Quoting from a study conducted by microbiologists of
the Ganga Ram Hospital, Shashi Khare, Deputy Director National
Centre for Disease Control, said, out of 1,944 pregnant women
surveyed, none had any Carbapenem resistance which should be
present if a person is carrying NDM-1 bacteria in their gut.
The study was carried out over the last two years. The
research shows that E Coli isolated from the gut of a large
randomly selected sample of pregnant women did not show any
carbapenem resistant E Coli in the stool samples indicating no
presence of NDM-1, Khare said.
Katoch further said that the environmental presence of
NDM-I gene carrying bacteria finding since there is no
clinical or epidemiological linkage of this finding in the
study area as given in the publication. The facts that
patients respond well to medical and postsurgical antibiotic
treatment indicates tha NDM-I is not a significant problem
inthe country.
Taking on the report further, Katoch said that the
carbapenem antibiotic is not required to be used in the
treatment of Cholera and Shigella dysentry as stated by the
study as these cases respond to commonly used antibiotics.
"The publication itself mentions that NDM-I gene is
not a stable character in most of the isolates indicating that
any time it can revert back to a sensitive state," he said.
Katoch added that transferring biological material out
of the country for the purposes of any study without taking
permission from the government was not legal. However, he
could not eleborate on what if any steps can be taken against
such action.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Jal Board dispelled concerns
following reports of presence of drug-resistant bacteria in
the capital's tap water and said the water being supplied by
the agency was "safe" for drinking.
"We want to assure that Delhi water is safe for
drinking," DJB CEO Ramesh Negi told reporters and claimed that
the water supplied by the agency conforms to the standards
prescribed by Bureau of Indian Standards.
Both the NDM-1 positive samples were from Ramesh
Nagar, west of the Yamuna River, "but the report itself states
that the strain cannot grow in tap water as it is
chlorinated," Negi said.
When asked about the reports of presence of
drug-resistant bacteria in water, Chief Minister Sheila
Dikshit said she has sought detailed reports about it from DJB
and Health Department.
"It (drug-resistant bacteria) has been found in water
in some areas around the Red Fort. I have sought detailed
reports about it," she said.
Experts say it is the latest proof that the new
drug-resistant bacteria, named after New Delhi, is widely
circulating in the environment and could potentially spread to
the rest of the world.
The superbug can only be treated with a couple of
highly toxic and expensive antibiotics. Since it was first
identified in 2008, it has popped up in a number of countries,
including the United States, Australia, Britain, Canada and
Sweden.
Most of those infections were in people who had
recently travelled to or had medical procedures in India,
Pakistan or Bangladesh.
India had earlier protested against the naming of the
bug after its capital, saying the research was not supported
by scientific data.
Director General of Health Services R K Srivastava
said that that following the publication of the report in
August last year, the government had written to the editor of
the 'Lancet' asking him to publish a letter refuting the
theory, but the magazine had refused to publish it.
