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Monday, November 1, 2010

Malaysia : Isolated bacteria strain tested superbug positive

An article from Balita :

" KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 26 : An isolated bacteria strain, out of a total of 18 strains, was tested NDM-1 positive in Malaysia, the Malaysian Health Ministry said in a statement here on Tuesday.

According to the ministry, the Malaysian Institute of Medical Research (MIMR) has conducted screenings on 18 isolated bacteria strains with a high resistance pattern.

One strain was tested NDM-1 positive.

However, the ministry stressed that the strain, which was obtained from a cancer patient, was only a colonizer, meaning that it would not cause the patient any disease.

In other words, the ministry said the patient was only a carrier of the bacteria.

To prevent the bacteria from being spread widely, the ministry said hospitals in Malaysia were directed to send bacteria samples that are resistant to most of the antibiotics to the MIMR for further investigations.

The NDM-1 bacteria is most prevalent in South Asia, but has also been found in Britain, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada, the United States and Sweden.

Due to its multi-drug resistant characteristic, it is also dubbed the superbug."

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