Superbug beats drugs, claims fourth life

Published Nov 1, 2011

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A fourth patient who was being treated for a multi-drug-resistant strain of bacteria has died.

The patient, who was admitted to Life Glynnwood Hospital in Benoni several weeks ago with an undisclosed pre-existing condition, died on Saturday.

The superbug, known as the New Delhi Metallo-Beta-Lactamose (NDM-1), is an enzyme that makes bacteria resistant to a wide range of antibiotics, including last-resort antibiotics. Ten patients with confirmed NDM-1 were treated at the hospital following the outbreak several weeks ago. Four have been discharged.

An isolated case of NDM-1 was confirmed at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital in September.

Glynnwood Hospital spokeswoman Marietjie Shelly said no new confirmed cases of NDM-1 had been recorded since Friday, October 21, but two patients remained under strict surveillance in an isolation ward, and infection prevention precautions were being observed.

The hospital is using two antibiotics, Tigecycline and Colistin, to fight the infection.

“One of these patients has been treated in ICU since admission. The other patient was in ICU earlier, but the patient’s condition has improved to the extent that intensive care is no longer required,” Shelly said.

About 400 hospital staff and patients have been screened for the superbug.

Professor Adrian Duse, head of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases’ outbreak response unit, said it was impossible to determine the exact extent that NDM-1 had contributed to the patients’ deaths as every patient admitted was either critically or seriously sick with other conditions and diseases.

The NDM-1 enzyme is carried through the mouth by food and water and through cross-infection between people. It was first identified in new Delhi, India, in 2009, but its exact origin is unknown. The NDM-1 strain is found in E.coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae.

The Health Department has commended the hospital. - The Star

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