Silent Superbug Crisis: 8 in 10 Indians Carry Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria, Global Study Warns

India is in the middle of a silent and dangerous superbug surge. According to a recent global study, 83 percent of patients who enter hospitals already carry antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The study led by AIG Hospitals, Hyderabad, published in the journal The Lancet, reported during Antimicrobial Awareness Week that India tops the chart in an escalating Antimicrobial Resistance or AMR emergency.

Doctors involved in the study said the country stands at a “critical tipping point”, as resistant bacteria continue to spread faster than they can be controlled. Experts blame the following factors:

• Easy and often unchecked access to antibiotics
• Uncontrolled over-the-counter sales at pharmacies
• High antibiotic use in poultry, dairy, aquaculture and farming

The widespread misuse of these products has fasten the creation of superbugs, which are defined as the bacteria resistant to medicines that were effective.

What Is a Superbug?

A superbug is a strain of bacteria, virus, fungus, or parasite that has evolved to withstand the drugs designed to kill it. As these organisms adapt, the infections they cause become:

• Harder to treat
• More costly to manage
• Potentially life-threatening

Doctors believe overexposure to antibiotics, which are so often prescribed without proper diagnosis, has left India's population particularly vulnerable.

Also Read: An Expert Guide To Choose The Right Milk For Your Gut And Beat The Bloat

“India Leads With the Highest Superbug Load,” Reports Study

The findings were drawn from 1,200 patients in India, Italy, the USA, and the Netherlands.The results found that Indian patients had the highest levels of drug-resistant bacteria, far more than any other country surveyed.

It warned that most bacteria detected in Indian patients are resistant even to last-resort antibiotics, which is taken to mean treatment options are becoming dangerously limited. The following conditions significantly placed the patients at risk:

• Chronic lung disease
• Heart failure
• Frequent past use of antibiotics

How Were These Superbugs Detected?

Doctors discovered the resistant bacteria during standard endoscopy procedures, known as ERCP. It is a technique where through the mouth a duodenoscope, (a thin, snake-like flexible camera) is introduced in order to visualise the liver, pancreas, and gallbladder.

Even with sterilisation after each use, some highly resistant germs cling to those instruments, which raised concerns over:

• The limitations of current cleaning technologies
• The ease with which superbugs can spread within medical settings.

Two Patients, One Procedure, Two Different Outcomes

The study highlighted two ERCP patients who came in with the same medical condition but their journeys took different turns because of their exposure to drug-resistant bacteria. With complete case details not shared publicly, researchers did indicate that superbug presence directly influenced recovery and complications, emphasising a life-altering impact due to AMR.

Experts also warn that India's superbug crisis is not a problem confined to the hospitals, but a public health emergency. With antibiotics liberally taken for colds, fevers and viral infections (for which they do not work), we may run out soon of effective treatments.

The results from this study are an eye-opener that if antibiotic misuse continues, common infections will become deadly once again.