Superbug spreads to GTA

[Geek]

A multi-drug resistant superbug well-known in India and Pakistan has made its way to the Greater Toronto Area, a study finds.

Two people in the GTA tested positive for the stubborn antibiotic resistant bacteria called New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-1 (NDM-1), which is wrecking havoc in India and Pakistan.

One of the two GTA people with NDM-1 bug had not traveled outside of southwestern Ontario in more than a decade and no source could be identified for the superbug. The 86-year-old man caught the bug in October 2010. None of the patients relatives had recently travelled to India or Pakistan.

In Canada, previous cases were linked only by travelling overseas. This is the first documented case where travelling to the Indian-sub-continent was not necessary in catching the bug.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported instance in which an NDM-1-producing organism was locally acquired in Canada, Dr. Susan Poutanen, a microbiologist and infectious disease physician at Mount Sinai Hospital and University Health Network, said.

Its not a cause for alarm to Canadians at large. Theres only been a handful of cases ... this is a reminder to health care institutions to take appropriate infection control measures, Poutanen added.

In the second case, the GTA patient flew to India to have a medical procedure performed. The 71-year-old GTA woman was hospitalized for 10 days in New Delhi, India, where she acquired the superbug in September 2010.

Both patients tested positive for NDM-1, but were not infected with the bacteria, meaning the bacteria colonized in the patients gut and was found in the patients urine, but did not cause harm to the patients.

Both patients continue to be monitored in case the bacteria infects their bladders.

Poutanen said there are few treatment options and limited antibiotics which work against NDM-1 because the bug is so resistant against many antibiotics.

In cases where patients are infected with NDM-1, extensive infection control precautions must be taken, including isolation in single rooms and enhanced environmental cleaning.

Poutanen said its difficult for laboratories to diagnose the bug and it can be missed if special screening is not performed to detect NDM-1.

When looking for the organism, its tricky to find, said Poutanen, who has developed a new method to detect NDM-1.

The study is published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/05/30/superbug-spreads-to-gta

 

[biomat]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13597080

Fourteen people have died in Germany and hundreds are ill from infections linked to contaminated vegetables.
"We hope the number of cases will go down but we fear it will worsen," said Oliver Grieve, of the University Medical Centre Schleswig-Holstein, where many victims are being treated.
It is thought cucumbers from Spain were at the origin of the outbreak.
But Spanish officials have refused to accept the blame, saying it is still unclear exactly when and where the vegetables were contaminated.
The World Health Organisation has described the outbreak as "very large and very severe" and has urged countries to work together to find the source of contamination.
Travel link Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Germany's national disease institute, has confirmed 329 cases in the country - though some reports have mentioned as many as 1,200 cases.

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Professor Mark P Stevens of The Roslin Institute explains what is E. coli O157

In Sweden, authorities said there have been 36 suspected E.coli infections, all linked to travel in northern Germany.
Cases have also been reported in Switzerland, Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK.
In many instances, the gastrointestinal infection has led to Haemolytic-uraemic Syndrome (HUS), which causes kidney problems and is potentially fatal.
Suspicion has fallen on organic cucumbers from Spain imported by Germany but then re-exported to other European countries, or exported directly by Spain.
Cucumbers from the cities of Almeria and Malaga have been identified as possible sources of contamination, according to an EU spokeswoman.
Wider ban threatened Several countries have taken steps to curtail the outbreak, such as banning cucumber imports and removing the vegetables from sale.
They include:

• Russia, which has banned the import of tomatoes, cucumbers and salad produced in Germany and Spain, and threatened to ban all European vegetable products
• the Czech Republic and France, which have taken some Spanish-grown cucumbers off shop shelves amid contamination fears
• Austria, which has banned the sale of cucumbers, tomatoes and aubergines imported via Germany
• Belgium, which was reported to have banned cucumber imports from Spain
• the Netherlands, which exports billions of cucumbers to Germany, and has halted all shipments
• Denmark, which has expressed "great uncertainty" about suspicions that its cucumbers may be involved and has begun testing for contamination

On Monday, Spanish Agriculture Minister Rosa Aguilar denied Spanish vegetables were to blame, and that Spain would look into claiming damages for losses incurred.
"Our understanding is that the problem does not come from the [country of] origin," Ms Aguilar was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.
"The image of Spain is being damaged, Spanish producers are being damaged and the Spanish government is not prepared to accept this situation," she said.

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GP Dr Rosemary Leonard says salad vegetables should always be thoroughly washed

She also urged Germany to wrap up its investigation into the cause of the outbreak. The results of the probe are not expected before Tuesday or Wednesday, officials said.
German authorities have warned people to avoid eating raw cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce.
They have also warned the outbreak may get worse as its source may still be active.
The sickness is not directly contagious but it can be transferred between people if an infected person prepares food for others.

 

[biomat]

Europe is in grip of viruses.. Man made... Just want to reject all natural food supplies & grow gm (genetically modified) food.

 

[drkjke]

taliban must have done this:13:

source...secular news net work and anchor and researcher name secular forever


on serious note this can be apocalypse.if this super bug and the one mutant strain of E coli bacterium in germany is spread in globe than millions of people can die..
in german e coli infection the bacterial DNA is so mutated that no anti biotic effects it.
.this news is bigger than any news in some years.lets see what allah decides.