In this year’s edition of scaring the crap out of people, the NDM-1 is supposed to be the next superbug that’s going to end the world and kill almost everyone. It’s resistant to every antibiotic out there, except two. Expect the news to highlight the fact that it’s resistant to “nearly every antibiotic,” and hyping this superbug up instead of being realistic.
Some think it will be far worse than H1N1, however, since that turned out to be more of a scare than the end of the world, it’s too early to really say whether the NDM-1 will fizzle in the same way. NDM-1 is an enzyme in bacteria that changes the DNA of the bacteria, making it difficult to combat with the normal course of antibiotics. It is typically found inside bacteria, such as e. coli, and can be spread through improper food handling and medical procedures. It is becoming more prevalent because of medical tourism to India where NDM-1 originated.
