Much ado about Superbugs : What is the truth?
A major fracas has erupted in the healthcare and political world after a study published in the Lancet. The paper entitled “Emergence of a new antibiotic resistance mechanism in India, Pakistan, and the UK: a molecular, biological, and epidemiological study” which was authored by a total of 31 researchers from places as diverse as Chennai, Kolkata, Lahore, Karachi. Stockholm, Cardiff and Brisbane (among others) has sparked off a bitter row in India. Accusations are flying around about motivated reports aimed at tarnishing the Indian image and trying to damage the burgeoning medical tourism industry. What is the fuss all about? As is well known, one of the biggest threats to life is infections. In fact before the thirties there was nothing we could do about most infections. But after Fleming’s fortuitous discovery of Penicillin we have been gifted with a wide array of antibiotics that have been great help in Man’s battle against infectious disease. However over the past decade or so ...