China Steps up Monitoring of Super-Bacteria

Chinese health authorities are now stepping up nationwide monitoring after the discovery of three cases of a multi-drug resistant superbug.

Health officials say two cases of the NDM-1 drug-resistant have been found in underweight babies born in March at a county-level hospital in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in the country's northwest. They've now recovered and are said to be doing fine.

A third case has also been uncovered in an 83-year-old patient in Fujian who died in June.

Health officials note that the primary cause of her death was actually late-term lung cancer, however they're not sure what-if any-role the superbug had in her death.

As a result of these discoveries, a network covering 170 top-level hospitals across the country is now closely monitoring the bacteria.

Local health authorities are required to report to the Ministry of Health within 12 hours if suspected cases are detected.
Deng Haihua, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, says despite the recent discoveries, there is no need for people to panic.

"Generally speaking, drug-resistant bacteria may cause illnesses to people with low immune systems and critical hospitalized patients under certain conditions. But it cannot sicken healthy people and spread among the public like the pandemic of SARS or A/H1N1. So there is no need for panic."

NDM-1 is most prevalent in South Asia, but has also been found in Britain, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada, the United States and Sweden.

For more on the so-called superbug, we are joined on the line by Xu Jianguo, head of the infectious disease department under the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.