New Delhi metallo-ß-lactamase-1, or NDM-1 for short, is a gene carried by bacteria that makes the strain resistant to carbapenem antibiotics. This is concerning because these antibiotics are some of the most powerful ones, used on hard-to-treat infections that evade other drugs. NDM-1 (or more precisely the DNA code for this enzyme) can easily now jump from one strain of bacteria to another. Experts are worried that it may end up in another bacterium which is already resistant to many other antibiotics. Ultimately, it could produce dangerous infections that would spread rapidly from person to person and be almost impossible to treat. Other treatment options are available to fight these infections but they present major challenges for clinicians and will often demand combinations of antibiotics are used. Scientists have identified some strains that have been resistant to all known antibiotics So far, many of the UK cases have been in patients who have recently travelled to India or Paki
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