[NDM-1: the superbug?]

Infez Med. 2011 Dec;19(4):224-34.
[Article in Italian]

Abstract

A novel type of carbapenemase, New Delhi metallo beta-lactamase 1 (NDM 1), was first identified in 2008 in two Enterobacteriacea isolates, both recovered from a Swedish patient transferred from India. The emergence of NDM 1 is now reported from all continents, often in patients with a history of travel or hospitalization in the Indian subcontinent. The NDM 1 producing Gram-negative bacteria are mainly Enterobacteriaceae, which can cause colonization or fatal infections, with worrying antimicrobial susceptibility profiles: some isolates have developed resistance to practically all available antibiotics. Is the NDM-1 the super-bug? Are we in the post-antibiotic era? This review is a summary of currently available knowledge of NDM-1 that draws attention to future antimicrobial resistance scenarios.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Abscess / drug therapy*
  • Abscess / microbiology
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Buttocks
  • Colistin / pharmacology
  • Colistin / therapeutic use*
  • Diabetes Complications*
  • Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial
  • Humans
  • India
  • Klebsiella Infections / complications
  • Klebsiella Infections / drug therapy*
  • Klebsiella Infections / microbiology
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae / drug effects*
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae / enzymology
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae / isolation & purification
  • Male
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Middle Aged
  • Sweden
  • Travel
  • Treatment Outcome
  • beta-Lactamases / drug effects
  • beta-Lactamases / metabolism*

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • beta-Lactamases
  • beta-lactamase NDM-1
  • Colistin