Taiwan reports first case of superbug NDM-1

The bacterium carrying the NDM-1 gene was found in an intestine sample taken from the Taiwanese cameraman, who was shot outside a mosque by a masked gunman in New Delhi last month. NDM-1, short for New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-1, was listed by the CDC as a communicable disease in September.

"The cameraman had been infected with the bacteria while undergoing surgery in the high-risk country of India. This is the first time that the strain has been detected in Taiwan and we therefore have reason to believe that this was an imported case," said Shih Wen-yi, deputy director general of the CDC.

Shih, however, urged the public not to panic over the first reported case of the superbug. "It's not easy for the people to be infected by the cameraman," he said, adding that the cameraman has shown no symptoms of infection and has been out of hospital.

But Shih called for local people to maintain a high level of personal hygiene by constantly washing their hands, and adhere to the proper protocols when using antibiotics to guard against the bug.

According to Shih, during tests conducted on the cameraman, traces of the antibiotic-resistant superbug were found.

The cameraman, who was shot in the abdomen, was accompanied by a team of medical workers on his return flight to Taiwan on Sept. 27 to receive further treatment. Shih said all the waste material on the aircraft was properly disposed of. The cameraman, reportedly in good health, is required to report back to the CDC on a weekly basis for follow-up visits.

Doctors said once the cameraman is found to be suffering inflammation of the bladder or other organs, antibiotic medicine such as Tygacil is available domestically to cure the inflammation.

Bacteria with the NDM-1 gene has infected people around the world, but the infection epicenter is in India and Pakistan. They are resistant to most available antibiotics, including carbapenems that are used as a last resort when common antibiotics have failed.

NDM-1 was first identified in December 2009 in a patient hospitalized in New Delhi with an infection caused by Klebsiella pneumonia. It was later detected in bacteria in India, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Japan.

In August this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a statement warning governments to take measures to combat anti-microbial resistance.

"Countries should be prepared to implement hospital infection control measures to limit the spread of multi-drug resistant strains and to reinforce national policy on prudent use of antibiotics, reducing the generation of antibiotic resistant bacteria," the WHO statement said.

The CDC has ordered local hospitals to immediately report any suspected cases, especially those in which the patient received medical treatment in India or Pakistan.

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