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NDM-1 and the Role of Travel in Its Dissemination

Mary Elizabeth Wilson1, Lin H Chen

  • 1Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA, mewilson@hsph.harvard.edu.

Current Infectious Disease Reports
|March 16, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Global travel facilitates the spread of antimicrobial resistance. This includes the New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-1 (NDM-1) gene, contributing to untreatable infections worldwide, especially with medical tourism.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a significant global health threat, leading to untreatable bacterial infections.
  • The New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-1 (NDM-1) enzyme confers extreme resistance, is found in common pathogens, and has spread globally.
  • Initial NDM-1 infection reports were linked to the Indian subcontinent.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of international travel in the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance.
  • To focus on the spread of bacteria carrying the bla (NDM-1) mobile genetic element.
  • To identify contributing factors, such as medical tourism, in the global spread of NDM-1.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature and epidemiological data on NDM-1.
  • Analysis of travel patterns and their correlation with NDM-1 emergence.
  • Examination of factors driving medical tourism and its impact on resistance spread.

Main Results:

  • International travel, including medical tourism, is a key driver for the global dispersal of NDM-1.
  • The bla (NDM-1) gene is present in various pathogens, increasing the risk of untreatable infections.
  • Long-distance travel and cross-border medical care facilitate the rapid spread of resistant bacteria.

Conclusions:

  • Travelers play a crucial role in the global movement of antimicrobial resistance genes like NDM-1.
  • Medical tourism significantly contributes to the international spread of highly resistant bacteria.
  • Addressing global travel and medical tourism is essential to control the spread of NDM-1 and other resistant pathogens.

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