India trashes Lancet's superbug study as 'unscientific'

Sunday, May 29, 2011

After hurried action on controlling antibiotic resistance in response to the British study in superbug, Indian health authorities have questioned the study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases which reported presence of NDM-1 superbug in water samples in Delhi. The British paper has little "scientific evidence", Indian officials led by Director General of Health Services R K Srivastava have claimed in an editorial published in Indian Journal of Medical Research, brought out by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). In the wake of the study which found the gene, known as New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase or NDM-1 which makes bugs resistant to almost all antibiotics, in water samples in Delhi, the government hurriedly announced the long-pending antibiotic policy. The study had warned that there was a threat of spread of this gene around the world and advised people against travelling to India for medical treatment. The officials have argued that multi drug-resistant pathogens exist globally including the Western world with a death toll of over 2,500 in the US alone and some 2,500 deaths in Europe every year. "Does it mean that the whole of Europe is unsafe for medical treatment and that all such notorious pathogens originated in Europe?" The editorial says "the (British) authors themselves admit that there was no statistically significant strain relatedness between the Indian 'British research biased against us' and UK isolates which raises doubts about the alleged origin of so-called NDM-1 from India. Mere fact that some of the study patients, shown to possess NDM-1, had visited India for some kind of surgery during preceding years is not adequate proof to claim the huge link with India. The authors could link only 17 of 37 UK patients to the Indian subcontinent. Since no prescreening of the patients was done before their visit to India, it would be wrong to conclude that the 'bug' had its origin in India". "Even while the authors have admitted that there was no statistical proof of strain relatedness between Indian and the UK isolates, the Journal chose to publish the paper cautioning global community to refrain from undergoing surgery in India. The concluding remarks of the authors are biased ( against India)," the editorial says.