New Delhi metallo beta lactamase 1: A weapon for the newly emerging drug resistant bacteria

Abstract

The world has seen the emergence of many micro organisms in the recent past which can curb the human population with their newly built genetic make up. The latest addition to this list of panic creating organisms is, bacteria encoding the gene for New Delhi metallo beta lactamase (NDM) 1. NDM 1 is an enzyme that can hydrolyse and inactivate carbapenems, which are used as a last resort for the treatment of multiresistant bacterial infections. Name of these bacteria were not found in the medical literature before December 2009, because of which it can take the credit of becoming a powerful emerging bacteria which are difficult to treat. Besides Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, other bacterial strains have also expressed the gene for NDM 1, which are detected in many countries.